


No Prison Can Hold

by Lailuva



Series: No Prison Can Hold [1]
Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Accidental Baby Yoda Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baby Yoda actually tantrums like a real toddler, Canon-Typical Violence, Cara Dune cameo, Episode AU: s1E6 The Prisoner, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, I'm smashing together whatever pleases me tbh, Luke attempts parenting as well, Parents Han and Leia, Protective Dad Din, more tags may be added if needed, parental rampaging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:01:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22398247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lailuva/pseuds/Lailuva
Summary: Din Djarin had been desperate for work, but he told himself he'd just have to get through Ran's job and then he'd have enough credits to keep his ship running and his kid safe for a few weeks longer.  But when the New Republic arrives earlier than expected, Din finds himself arrested and imprisoned, and his child taken from him and sent away to a new guardian.Luke Skywalker has experience being an uncle to his niece and nephew, but not being a caretaker or teacher to the Force-sensitive infant suddenly sent to him so that it can be protected from the nefarious bounty hunter who'd had it.  Caring for the powerful toddler is a challenge unlike any he's faced before, but he's determined to rise to the occasion.  Especially since the Mandalorian will do anything to get his kid back...The Mandalorian AU based on Episode 6: The Prisoner.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Luke Skywalker, Jacen Solo & Jaina Solo & Baby Yoda, Leia Organa/Han Solo, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV) & Luke Skywalker
Series: No Prison Can Hold [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712392
Comments: 844
Kudos: 1471
Collections: An Assortment of Damn Good Fics, Excellent Completed Gen & Platonic Fiction, Movies





	1. It All Goes Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching The Prisoner and idly thought, "huh, what if the New Republic arrived before Din got off the prison ship?" Then I thought, "huh, what if Luke crossed paths with Din and Baby Yoda?"
> 
> Normally I'd jot that down in my word document of ideas and never do anything with it, but my New Year's resolution was to challenge myself more with my writing, so here we are. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> FYI this fic will have both Disney and Legends canon smashed together however I please like a child with two colors of play-dough.

Everything was going fine now, or as fine as it could be compared to the disaster that had been this terrible job. Xi'an, Mayfeld, and Burg were contained, and all that was left was to get back to the ship, get the kid, and figure out how to still get paid, preferably without drawing any more heat from the New Republic.

So of course that was when a new alarm blared and a voice over the com roared, "Stand down. New Republic forces are boarding. Stand down."

Din swore. You could never rely on a droid, not even for a damn countdown. He had to get out of here. 

He ran, heedless of the droid corpses on the floor. Thanks to mostly him, this area was already clear, and if luck held, the path to the ship would be too.

Unfortunately, luck did not hold. 

"Halt," snapped the trio of droids who confronted him as he skidded around a corner. He charged straight forward, letting the beskar take the blaster hits, and shot the first droid right in the central processor before turning and shooting the other two right on the head. But there was another trio around the next bend, and then another. He could take them out with ease but they were slowing him down and he had to get to the kid. 

Finally he was almost there. He barreled around the corner -

\- and quickly ducked back behind the wall when he saw the five New Republic officers standing around Qin, his hands up in the air.

He bit back a curse. The ship was open, exposed, the ladder down. There was no way they weren't about to investigate, if they hadn't already. And if they found the kid… 

“This must’ve been the vehicle they used to board. What a hunk of junk.”

_ Better than your shiny, worthless prison box. _ Din peeked around the wall again, blaster at the ready, in time to see Zero joining Qin, hands up and with a New Republic officer pointing a blaster at his back.

Then he heard a muffled voice inside the ship. “What the - You guys won’t believe this!” Din heard the curious coo and his heart stopped. They’d found the kid.

He gripped his blaster tighter. There were six officers now, and he couldn’t count on Qin or Zero siding with him if he started a firefight. If there was any luck left to him today, the kid himself might start a ruckus and cause a distraction. But he could count on luck today as much as he could count on Qin or Zero.

“Look at this!” A fresh-faced young Zabrak hopped off the ladder with the child in his arms. The child didn’t seem distressed, cooing placidly at the officers as the Zabrak bounced him. “Isn’t it the cutest kid you’ve ever seen?”

“The hell is a kid doing with a bunch of mercs?” asked another officer, a Sarkhai woman. She jabbed Zero with her blaster. “Answer me.”

“The child is not mine,” said Zero. “Likely a bounty of the Mandalorian’s.”

“Shit.” The Sarkhai woman lifted her com to her face. “Has anyone captured the Mandalorian? Or at least have visual?”

“Negative,” buzzed the voice over the comm. “The other criminals are accounted for, and so is the missing prisoner. We’re resetting the cameras now. We’ll have visual soon.”

“We need to get this kid out of here,” said the Sarkhai woman. “Escort the prisoners to cell AA-267. Tolli, bring the kid with me to command.”

_ Fuck. No choice. _ He had to grab the kid, get on his ship, and hope to hell no one had a tractor beam.

The officers started herding along Qin and Zero first. Tolli the Zabrak and the Sarkhai woman lingered just a second longer, and that was his only chance.

“Hey!” he shouted as loud as he could while striding out from his hiding place. “Don’t move!”

“Oh my! Captain Niam!” squeaked Tolli, though to his credit he immediately spun around, putting himself between Din and the kid.

“Don’t move, Mando!” snapped the Sarkhai woman, her blaster up and raised from the second Tolli had spoken.

“Give me the kid.” He kept the blaster pointed at Niam, priming the whistling birds with his other hand. He’d have to use the rest, but if it meant getting his kid back… 

“Get behind me, Tolli,” ordered Niam.

“Don’t move!” Din roared again. The kid was trying to climb over Tolli’s shoulder, cooing and reaching for him. He had to get the kid. He couldn’t let him be taken again. “I don’t care about the others or fighting you. Just give me my kid.”

“We aren’t the Empire, Mando. I’m not handing some sicko like you an innocent kid,” snarled Niam. “You’re outnumbered. Stand down.”

Four of the officers had Qin and Zero several paces away. They were frozen, paying attention to the standoff but also the prisoners. If he could just take out Niam and Tolli and grab the kid, jump up the ladder, close the hatch and hold them off just long enough to take off -

Niam twitched her finger, and Tolli bolted.

Din swore and charged, firing at Niam. She rolled under, firing bolts herself that hit his beskar. He squeezed his fist to get ready to release the whistling birds and heard a sudden clanking behind him- 

He realized then he’d made a fatal mistake.

He barely turned enough to see the four droids behind him before they all shot simultaneous electroshocks. He heard the kid shrieking, and the bang of his beskar against the floor, and everything went black.

-

“Oh my. Oh my. Oh my.” Tolli clutched the little green kid tight as it tried to fight out of his grasp and swallowed, trying to sound soothing this time. “It’s okay, kid. He can’t get you.”

“Stop it, Tolli,” snapped Niam, holstering her blaster. She motioned to the droids - “Cuff him and disarm him” - before pulling out her com. “Mando’s down, Admiral. And you need to see what he had on his ship.”

“Affirmative, Captain. Bring it to command,” crackled Admiral Narro’s voice over the com.

“Take these away,” Niam said, motioning to the officers with the other prisoners. “Tolli, with me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Tolli, and he immediately started trotting after Niam.

But the kid wasn’t having it. It screamed, clawing at Tolli’s shoulder so hard he could feel it through the cloth of his uniform, and suddenly his arms were forced away from it.

“Hey!” he yelled as the kid dropped, but it landed on its feet and ran straight back to the ship’s ladder.

“Captain, the kid!” he shouted as he ran after it. It shouldn’t be this fast, not such a tiny little green bean like this! “Kid, kid!” he called. He almost reached out to grab it but hesitated. Surely it was just scared? He didn't want to frighten it more. It’d looked so lost and alone on that junky ship, locked in that tiny hold without even any food or water or toys. His heart hurt just thinking about what that awful bounty hunter could’ve been planning to do with it.

That was when he realized the kid was running right past the ladder and turning down the hall.

“Kid, no!” he shouted when he saw the kid really was running straight towards the unconscious Mandalorian about to be hauled away by the droids.

The most action Tolli had seen so far was stopping a suspected smuggler who turned out to be a legitimate businessman and a friend of General Solo. He didn’t want to get anywhere near someone as scary as the Mandalorian. But he wanted the poor kid to get hurt even less, so up he ran to the Mandalorian.

The kid was still shrieking, a heartrending sound, pulling at the Mandalorian’s boot as the droids kept trying to drag him away.

“No, no, kid. Danger!” said Tolli, quickly snatching up the kid. “You gotta stay away from him.”

But the kid shrieked again, and thrust out its tiny three-fingered hand - and one of the droids fell over flat on its back, as if it had been pushed over by an invisible force.

“Well, shit,” said Niam behind him.

Tolli turned around. “You… you saw that?”

“Hell yeah I did,” said Niam grimly. She looked down at the kid and Tolli followed her gaze, to see the eyelids drooping. The kid struggled, reaching for the Mandalorian again, but then fell limp in his arms, unconscious.

“That’s not… that can’t be… you know, the Force?” squeaked Tolli.

“I’ve only seen one other person do that,” said Niam. “Luke Skywalker.”

Tolli could only stare at her, bug-eyed.

“Hurry and let’s take the kid to Admiral Narro while it can’t do much about it,” said Niam. To the droids, she added, “Have the medics take a look at the Mando and make sure you didn’t fry him too bad. He might have information we need.”

Tolli hurried after Niam. He always had trouble keeping up with her long stride. “You said Luke Skywalker, right?  _ The _ Luke Skywalker?”

“Do you know many others?” asked Niam dryly.

“You never told me you fought alongside Luke Skywalker,” said Tolli accusingly.

“You never asked,” returned Niam. “Besides, there’s not much to tell. I was assigned to go along with him to investigate some old Jedi site on Yavin IV last year. A krakjya tried to ambush us and he pushed it away with the Force before using some mind stuff to make it wander off. Otherwise it was just a bunch of wandering the jungle, looking at weird carvings on rocks.”

“But Luke Skywalker!” said Tolli. “Next thing you know you’re gonna tell me you played bodyguard to Senator Organa.”

“I’d love to stare at her for hours, but no.” Niam glanced back at him. “Straighten your collar, will you? Narro is a stickler for that kind of thing.”

“Right.” Tolli pulled at his collar one-handed, the kid cradled in the other. He glanced down. Even in sleep it seemed troubled, fingers twitching restlessly against his sleeve. He wondered what it had been through, to end up on the bounty hunter’s ship. It was so cute he couldn’t imagine wanting to do anything horrible to it.

Finally he and Niam reached the temporary command center Admiral Narro had set up on the prison ship as soon as they’d secured it. It was the secondary command terminal, but since the primary had been taken over by the criminals, it was the best they could do. Already monitors were showing the camera feed again. Narro was pacing, surveying the various screens, her hands folded neatly behind her back.

“Admiral Narro. Captain Niam and Ensign Tolli reporting.”

Narro turned; the red emergency lights tinted her green skin and made her more fearsome than usual. “Report, Niam.”

“Yes ma’am. We secured two prisoners aboard the criminal ship. While searching Tolli here found a child.”

Tolli held up the child on cue. Narro surveyed it, her expression unwavering. “Continue, Niam.”

“The Mandalorian attempted to ambush us. He kept demanding the kid. The droids got him down and we started to move out, but the kid bolted back for the Mando. When we tried to get him, it used the Force to attack the droids.”

Narro raised an eyebrow. “The Force?”

“Just like Luke Skywalker, ma’am,” said Tolli.

“Did the bounty hunter give any indication of why he wanted the kid?”

“No ma’am,” said Niam. “Just shouted at us to give it back. Tolli found it locked in the ship. Probably another bounty he was planning to collect.”

The kid stirred, and Tolli rocked it. The kid had really fought to get back to that Mandalorian. “He said ‘my kid’,” he mused, and only when he looked up realized he’d said it out loud.

He felt his face warm under Narro’s steely gaze. “The Mandalorian. When he was about to attack. He said he didn’t care about us or the other criminals, just ‘give me my kid’.”

“The child is probably a bigger payout,” said Narro, disgust dripping from her words. “Scum like him are known for their cooperation with all sorts of vile underworld sorts, let alone what scraps of the Empire remain. If this child can use the Force, it’s probably extremely valuable in such markets.” Abruptly she stepped over to the comm. “I need a priority signal to Coruscant immediately,” she ordered the comm officer. “Preferably, to someone who can get me in contact with Senator Organa. If the child is Force sensitive, her brother will know what to do with it.”

“Yes ma’am. Patching through.”

“I also want notification as soon as the Mandalorian is awake. We’ll find out what he wants with that child. Ensign Tolli.”

Her sharp voice made him jump. “Yes ma’am.”

“Take the child to high security cell N48D and have yourself locked in with it. Requisition whatever you need to make it comfortable. You will be in charge of seeing to its needs for its delivery to Coruscant. Captain Niam, I’m placing you in charge of security around this child. We cannot let the Mandalorian get his hands on it again.”

“Yes ma’am,” Tolli and Niam chorused together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Since everyone has enjoyed the Baby Yoda commentary so much, I have added it to this chapter:
> 
> "Oh hello, funny horn face. Who are you? Are you mean like those other assholes that were just on the ship?"  
> "Okay I'm going back to Dad now HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING I WANT DAD"  
> "YOU FUCKERS TASED MY DAD HOW COULD YOUUUUUUUUUUU"  
> "DAAAAAAAAAAD GIVE ME BACK MY DAD!!! DAD WAKE UP YOU GOTTA TURN THESE ASSHOLES INTO SPARKLES"  
> "FUCK THIS DROID IN PARTICULAR"  
> "I'll get the rest of them...later....zzzzzzzzz"


	2. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din's bad day continues to get worse.

Everything hurt. His entire body felt like someone had set him on fire, his head was pounding like he’d drank an entire cask of  _ papuur’gal, _ and his ears were ringing so loud he almost couldn’t hear the voices talking about him.

“You can’t take the helmet off. They don’t allow outsiders to see their faces.”

“It’s a karking bounty hunter criminal. Who cares?”

_ “I _ care. It’s New Republic policy to be respectful of different cultural values, even prisoners. If we don’t, we’re no better than the Empire was.”

“He just got quadruple electroshocked. I think his stupid religion won’t care if we take the helmet off to make sure he’s still alive.”

“Don’t be like that. The monitors say he’s fine. They say he’s… oh. I think he’s conscious.”

Din forced himself to sit up right then just for the dramatic effect, even though it made his vision blur so bad he couldn’t see for a moment. He wobbled but managed to stay upright, even though he couldn’t make his limbs cooperate quite right. “Where’s my kid?” he demanded, the words slurring together and sounding very unthreatening.

“Don’t move, bounty hunter. We’re armed and you’re not.”

Din squinted. The helmet was still on, to his relief. He was in some sort of basic medical bay, judging from the surroundings and the two people in front of him dressed like medics, despite the blasters raised at his chest. His head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton. “Where’s my kid?”

“Don’t move, okay?” said the nicer sounding one, the one who didn’t want to take off his helmet. He had an arm raised placatingly. “You got hit really hard.”

“You’re in New Republic custody, bounty hunter.” The other one was glaring at him with almost enough force to pierce the beskar. “Don’t try anything funny.”

A comm crackled nearby; the sound made him wince. “Admiral Narro wants to interrogate the Mandalorian soon as he’s awake.”

“Perfect timing,” said the glaring one. “He just got up.”

He’d been cuffed while out already, and disarmed, and when they dragged him to his feet he figured out the reason he felt so light is because all the beskar had been stripped off his jumpsuit. His ship, his kid, his beskar. He swallowed the anger and forced himself to stay calm. He’d be no use to the kid shot, or dead.

Soldiers arrived to manhandle him into another room. He didn’t have to fake his stumbling as much as he would like, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to make everyone underestimate him. He tried to look out for his beskar, his gear, anything, but his vision kept not cooperating. Apparently being quadruple electroshocked was enough to really fuck someone up.

They slammed him into a chair before taking up a guard post in each corner of the room and he had to smile a little. Even stumbling like a drunkard, cuffed, unarmed, and unarmored, they knew what it took to keep a Mandalorian in custody.

It was only a few minutes before a Mirialan woman strode into the room, every atom oozing cool confidence. She was older, her short-cropped hair turned to iron, wrinkles and even a few scars marring the bars of interlocking diamond tattoos across her forehead and cheeks. “Mandalorian,” she said coldly.

Din swallowed, trying to force moisture back into his mouth. “Admiral Narro, I’m guessing.”

“Correct.” She sat opposite of him, neatly folding her hands in front of her. “Tell me why you’re aboard this ship.”

“Hired for a job,” he said. The fewer details the better, but enough to save his own ass. “More heat than I wanted, but I was already locked in. I was supposed to help spring Qin, but I saw you already got him back.”

“The others said as much,” said Narro. “Although they all insisted this job was your idea.”

Din snorted. “Figures.”

“I didn’t interview them personally. But I’m smart enough to tell who has the brains in this operation.”

“Not enough brains. I was lied to about it being New Republic. Like I said, more heat than I wanted.”

“I suspect you already had enough heat in your life,” said Narro. “Quite a few valuables were found on your ship.”

_ The kid!  _ “Don’t bluff me,” he told Narro. “It’s a hunk of junk and I know it. They only brought me on the job in the first place because it was so nondescript.”

“Don’t tell me not to bluff you and then turn around and try to bluff me,” said Narro. “We both know exactly what I’m talking about.” She spread her hands, nails clicking on the table. “Let’s be straight with each other, shall we? Isn’t that what your  _ kind _ value?” She practically spit the word, eyes narrowing. “You had a child on your ship. An  _ innocent child _ . What were you doing with it?”

“Minding my own damn business until I got roped into this karking job.”

Narro’s dark eyes glittered dangerously. “Don’t play games with me, bounty hunter. Who were you selling it to?”

He fought down the anger that flared up at the accusation. “No one. It's a  _ child.” _

“That doesn't stop scum like you. Tell me what you were doing with the child. I know its value already, so don't lie to me about that.”

He licked his lips, weighing his options as best he could when thinking straight was a massive effort. “He's my kid. I rescued him from mercs.”

“Ah, you knew of a better bidder? Slavers, perhaps?”

_ “No.”  _ He reminded himself it would not help to try and punch this woman and would probably only result in getting tased again. “He's… he's mine.”

“Father of the year, locking your kid in a bunk and taking him on a prison heist,” sneered Narro.

“He's wanted. I can't exactly leave him in daycare,” snapped Din. Her words did  _ not _ sting. He was not going to let her get under his skin. 

“Why's he wanted?” asked Narro.

“Thought you already knew,” returned Din. “You're the one insisting he's valuable.”

Narro smiled, thin like a knife. “Any chance you've ever seen this child move things with only a thought?”

So the kid had used his powers again. He hoped it was to push over the stupid admiral. “I'm guessing you have.”

Narro clicked her nails on the table. “What's his name?”

“I usually just call him kid. Womp rat when he's messing with the ship.” He did  _ not _ want to squirm under Narro's judgmental glare. It was just a side effect of being tased.

“Well, Mandalorian, I can tell you one thing about that child.” Narro stood up abruptly, glaring down at him. “It's never going to see you again. It's going somewhere safe, and you can rot on Belsavis with the rest of the scum.”

_ Fuck. _ It was still too hard to think, he didn't have any argument to use, only the knowledge that he'd left the kid behind once and he never wanted to do it again. “Where are you taking him?”

“Far away from you.” Narro motioned to the guards. “Put him in Cell 47HK. Any trouble, shock him again.”

-

Tolli had gotten a mess of extra blankets and even a few spare parts interesting and not-sharp-edged enough to pass as toys. The little child was safely settled in the blanket nest he'd constructed on the cell's bunk. It was restless in sleep, eyelids and fingers twitching. 

Niam walked in a moment later with a thermos that smelled of soup. “Hopefully he'll like this when he wakes up,” she said, setting it in the corner. “You need anything else before I do a full lockdown?”

“I don't think so.” Tolli looked over at the child again. “I wish we knew its name.”

“Narro said the Mandalorian didn't give her much. Just kept claiming it was his.” She snorted.

Tolli shrugged. “I mean, the kid  _ was _ running to him…”

“It's a child. It doesn't understand,” said Niam dismissively. “I’m locking you in and doing a full security sweep, all right? Holler if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Niam.” Tolli gave her a friendly wave and she left the cell, locking him in and posting guards outside.

The noise of the door closing made the child jump, and it quickly sat up and stared at the cell around it.

“Hey,” said Tolli cheerfully. The child stared at him with wide dark eyes and he smiled at it. “It’s all right. You’re safe.”

The child cooed, still staring at him with unnatural concentration.

“You want some soup?” asked Tolli. The child didn’t react, and he tried to sound more friendly. “Soup? You hungry, little green bean?”

He had to laugh at himself for that. The child tilted its head in confusion. “Green bean!” said Tolli. “That’s what I’ll call you.” He opened the thermos, pouring some soup in the bowl-like lid and passing it over. “You hungry, green bean?”

The child snatched the soup and guzzled it down. Tolli felt an ache in his chest. The Mandalorian probably hadn’t been feeding the poor thing regularly. “It’s all right, green bean,” he said softly. “You’re safe now.”

-

Din managed to pull out the cell’s cot before sitting and slumping against the wall with a heavy sigh. His entire body still ached like the kriffing droids had kicked him head to toe, and the fact that he’d been cuffed at both wrists and ankles did not do anything to make him more comfortable. The guards had gleefully informed him that breaking either, or the chain between them, would give him a shock strong enough to knock him out.

He wanted to take the helmet off, to just lay down and breathe for even a minute, but he was certain there were cameras on him and he wasn’t about to give the New Republic forces the satisfaction, especially their aggravating Admiral. He had to think, though. He’d been in nasty situations before and gotten out. He could figure this out, if only his damn head would clear.

Of course, he’d been on his own most of those, or otherwise with someone else he could count on or at least predict. He hadn’t been responsible for a child.

He groaned. Ten minutes. He would lay down and close his eyes for ten minutes, reset his brain, and then hopefully be able to figure this out.

It was approximately thirty seconds later when he heard a patrol of droids clank by, the harsh sound jarring his ears. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to shut it out. The droids passed on, several minutes passed, and he finally managed to untense himself enough that the pain in his body lessened the slightest bit, and then footsteps again, but this time with voices, muffled but understandable through the cell door.

“Yeah, it gulped the soup right down. Must’ve been starving, poor thing. How could anyone mistreat something so cute?”

“Overheard Captain Niam saying the transport to get the kid is almost here. It’ll be on its way to Coruscant in a few hours. It’ll be safe there with Skywalker.”

Coruscant? He bit back a curse. The center of the Core Worlds. He’d never gone there himself; his kind of work didn’t lead that far into the Core. Competition on the Core was the kind he avoided. Someone skilled enough to be slinking around the New Republic’s capital was more trouble than it’d be worth, and he’d never cared to have his ship identified by their ports either, although that was probably a lost cause now.

And who was this Skywalker they were sending his kid to? They’d acted like he was a horrible monster and the worst thing to happen to the kid and now they were carting his kid off to some random schutta?

Slowly, his brain finally zeroed in on the most important info. A few hours. The transport was coming in a few hours.

A few hours, and his kid might be beyond his grasp forever.

He jolted to his feet and stumbled to the door. “Hey!” he called after the patrol, but they were already gone. He looked up at the ceiling, where he knew a camera had to be concealed somewhere. “Hey, Admiral,” he said loudly. “Want some dirt on the Empire?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> papuur'gal = Mandalorian wine
> 
> If you aren't familiar, Belsavis is a planet in Star Wars: The Old Republic that the aforementioned Republic uses as a prison planet for its most dangerous criminals. I'm just so happy to finally work a SWTOR reference into a Mandalorian fic. (Admiral Narro is also loosely based on my SWTOR Trooper.)
> 
> Copperscales asked about Baby Yoda's POV of events on the last chapter, so here's his take on this chapter: "Okay you may have food but I still don't like you. Stop telling me I'm safe, you fuckers tased my dad."


	3. Separate Paths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din tries to talk his way back to his child. The baby tries more direct methods.

It was about ten minutes before a quartet of guards arrived and irritably manhandled him back into the interrogation room. Din went quietly as possible; he still hurt all over, his head was pounding, and his stomach was loudly growling an uncomfortable reminder as to why he’d been so desperate as to take Ran’s job in the first place. But he had a purpose now, some focus to his muddled brain, and he only had a few hours to act.

He had to wait another ten minutes at least, maybe twenty. Din suspected she was dragging her feet on purpose just to aggravate him, but he was determined to not be pushed around. He had information he could use. Narro seemed the type to hate the Empire virulently, and the fact that he was here at all backed up that theory, given that everyone here seemed to have zero compunctions about tasering him again if he caused them any trouble.

Finally Narro walked in, sitting down and giving him a glare of pure steel. “What do you want, Mandalorian?”

If there was one thing he could like about her, it was her unwillingness to play games. “My kid, my ship, my armor.”

Narro’s lip curled. “If you’re going to waste my time, I’ll have you dragged back to your cell unconscious, and you can stay that way until we reach Belsavis.”

Din shrugged. “You asked. But if that’s not an option, I’ll take a trial on Coruscant.”

Her face was impassive. “Why?”

“I already told you. I was led into this job on false pretenses. I would’ve thought the noble New Republic would be in favor of giving a man a fair trial.”

Narro snorted. “You were caught red-handed springing a prisoner from a New Republic prison transport, after killing the stationed officer. A trial would be a waste of time.”

“Fine,” said Din. He leaned back in his chair to try and project confidence. “Then maybe your superiors on Coruscant would be interested in the information I have on an Imperial remnant.”

Narro leaned forward slightly in spite of herself. He had her interest. “The New Republic is already aware of pockets of Imperial resistance,” she said coldly. “The Empire is gone, and the remnants will soon be too.”

“Are you really that confident?” asked Din, crossing his arms over his chest and hating the way he didn’t hear beskar clinking together. “You’re a military woman. You can appreciate knowing their numbers, what resources they have at their disposal. A location.”

“Anyone can make up such information,” said Narro dismissively.

Din hesitated, but decided with her, he’d need to lay a card on the table. “I took the kid from them,” he said. “They wanted him. Probably for whatever power he has. I broke him out. That’s why I have him.”

_ That _ had her attention; her eyes widened noticeably. “They’re pursuing the child?”

“Yes,” said Din. Quickly, he continued, “And I can give you what planet they’re on. The location of the stronghold, what resources I personally saw -”

“The stronghold you raided,” interrupted Narro.

“I got the kid and got out. I didn’t trash the place,” said Din impatiently. “There were still people there. High-ranking people, some scientist and his boss at least. Valuable targets.”

Narro considered, her nails clicking on the table. The sound was like a hammer on his aching skull. Finally she looked back at him. “And your price is Coruscant?”

“I’m not stupid,” said Din. “I’m telling your superiors, not you.”

“Oh, I know you’re not stupid, Mandalorian. Just not smart enough.” Narro lifted her comm to her mouth. “Captain Darrall. Slice the Mandalorian’s ship’s navicomputer. I want a list of every location it’s been to in the past year and I want it cross-checked with reports of Imperial activity. And Captain? Kindly remind all soldiers under my command that loose lips are not to be tolerated. This is a prison ship. There are listening ears in every hall right now.”

She clicked off her comm and stood. “I will give you nothing, Mandalorian. Your beskar will be melted down and repurposed to protect riot control troops on Belsavis. Your ship will go to Belsavis as well, where it will be scrapped like the piece of junk it is. My old friend Renegard is in charge of prisoner labor there. He’s not stupid enough to have you work on your own ship, but I’ll ask him to put you in the closest yard so you can still watch. As for that child -” She slammed her hands down on the table and leaned in close, cold fury etched over her face. “I’d sooner hand  _ myself _ over to a Mandalorian than give a child to one of you murdering marauders. You will never see that child again, and it will be free of the influence of your kind.” She motioned sharply to the guards. “Lock him back up. I don’t want to see him again until I personally watch him handed off to the Belsavis prisons.”

The guards dragged him out again. He didn’t bother saying anything; Narro clearly wasn’t going to listen to anything he said anyway. Besides, he needed his ears. As he was led away he heard her ask about the transport, and from her own mouth got confirmation - the kid was headed to Coruscant.

And one way or another, so would he.

-

“Here you go, green bean, try this.” Tolli smiled at the little child. “You wanna play?”

The child was refusing to react to anything he waved in front of it since it’d downed all the soup. It sat, one hand clutching a handful of blankets, and stared at him. It would look at anything he offered in front of it - the spare parts he’d gathered earlier, his insignia and even his comm - but otherwise not respond. Now he was trying his finger.

He wiggled his first finger right in front of the child’s nose. “Boop! Gotcha!” he said in his brightest voice as he poked it in the nose. The kid squinted irritably, but otherwise didn’t react.

"What do you want, green bean?" asked Tolli. "You still tired?"

He made to pick the kid up, maybe rock or bounce it, but it let out an unholy shriek and he quickly set it down. It went back to staring… no,  _ glaring _ at him.

"Whaddaya want, green bean?" asked Tolli helplessly. 

The kid hopped off the cot and toddled over to the door. It whined and scratched at it with its claws. 

"We'll be out soon. The transport's almost here." Tolli frowned. "You don't need to… use the 'fresher, do you?"

The child only squalled at him and scratched the door again.

"No, no," said Tolli in what he hoped was a firm-yet-upbeat voice like the one his sister used on his nephews. The child ignored him, scratching at the door more insistently. 

"Leave that alone," said Tolli, finally getting up and picking up the child. It whined, but he bounced it and it cocked its head and stared at him instead. After a moment, it reached up for his face.

Tolli leaned forward, letting the tiny fingers trace his tattoos and touch his horns. "Have you ever seen a Zabrak before, green bean?"

The child patted his bare skin, cheek and forehead and nose, before shuffling his brown hair a bit. It made a noise that sounded almost concerned.

"I'm okay," said Tolli. Not for the first time, he wondered exactly what the poor child had seen while in the Mandalorian's clutches. 

Done exploring his face, the child fussed and Tolli set him down, ready to interfere if the child tried to scratch the door again. But this time the child went over to the soup bowl. It jammed the bowl on its head and stared up at Tolli, cooing. 

"That your hat?" asked Tolli, unable to hold in a laugh.

The child gave him a deadpan look before going to the door. This time, he didn't scratch; he raised one hand, closing his eyes in concentration.

"Oh no you don't!" said Tolli, running over; he snatched up the child and it shrieked, and that was of course when the voice of Admiral Narro crackled over the comm. "Ensign Tolli. Is everything all right?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied meekly, not looking at the child glaring at him.

"Prepare the child for transport. Captain Niam will get you."

"Yes ma'am."

Tolli gathered up the softest blanket, wrapping the kid up. He left the makeshift toys the kid hadn't wanted but caught the bowl when it slipped off the kid's head. The child whined until he put it back on.

Niam was there in a few minutes. The child squealed in delight when the door opened, but cut itself off when it saw Niam and the six soldiers behind her. Tolli could swear it was straight-up scowling at them. 

"The transport is locking in at Port B. Let's go," said Niam. "We're taking the long way round to keep the kid away from you-know-who's cell." She turned to make sure they all knew she was addressing everyone. "Admiral's given strict orders for tight lips. Too many ears around."

"Aye," Tolli said along with the others. He bounced the child, whose scowl deepened. "Here we go, green bean," he said cheerfully. 

Niam led and Tolli carried the child in the middle of the formation. The child looked around curiously, inspecting everything in sight, but didn't fight or act out. The bowl slipped off its head and it clung to it tightly. 

They took a circuitous route like Niam had said, mostly sticking to halls with unoccupied cells. The few prisoners they did pass watched them but didn't bother them. The child stayed quiet, until they went past the second-to-last hallway.

Tolli barely grabbed the child in time as it tried to jump out of his arms. When it couldn't escape his grasp, it  _ screamed. _

Niam spun around. “What’d you do?!”

“Nothing!” said Tolli defensively.

“Then why is it -”

The kid screamed again, struggling to get out of Tolli’s arms, and when he looked down the hallway he had his answer. The human fingers curling around the cell bars were completely nondescript, but he knew they’d been wearing yellow gloves and that a silver helmet was behind them. “Kid!” yelled the Mandalorian.

“Move,” ordered Niam, motioning for them all to continue on. The child shrieked, the sound rending Tolli’s eardrums, but he clutched it tighter as he hurried on.

“I’m gonna come get you!” shouted the Mandalorian after them, barely heard over the child’s wails. “I promise! I’ll come get you!”

The child kept screaming and Tolli wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to hold it if he hadn’t confined it in a blanket. The claws raked against his shirt but didn’t find enough purchase to rip it or hurt the skin beneath.

Luckily the transport was already docked and ready by the time they reached Port B. Niam hurried them all aboard and into their seats; one of the others helped Tolli buckle in while he clutched the screaming, struggling child. The personnel already aboard were ready to go; a quick check-in with Admiral Narro, clearance exchanged, and the airlock hissed shut and the ship shuddered as it decoupled from the prison vessel and swooped up into space.

That was when the kid finally stopped screaming. It blinked, looking around at the surroundings. The transport was small but neatly kept and clean, like most official New Republic vessels, and while they were packed in tight it wasn’t going to be unmanageable. “It’s not so bad, right, green bean?” said Tolli soothingly.

The child pointed back at the hatch.

“It’s okay,” said Tolli. “We’re going to Coruscant! Isn’t that nice?”

The child blinked, its dark eyes bright. Tears sparkled in the corner of its eyes and dripped down its cheeks. Tolli wiped them away with his sleeve. “Don’t worry. We’re going away from there.”

For a moment he thought it was going to scream again, or push him with the Force, but then the child buried its face in his shoulder and sobbed inconsolably.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” repeated Tolli, patting its back and trying to calm it. But the child only cried and cried as the transport rocketed through hyperspace, far away from the prison ship and all aboard it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby Yoda's takes on this chapter:  
> "I hate all of you. Let me out."  
> "The horns are neat but you really should be wearing a helmet. I want a helmet."  
> "DAAAAAAAAAAAAD :(((("
> 
> Oh no the sad part! But Din is gonna get things moving soon. :) Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> As I mentioned on my Baby Yoda POV fic I'm finding my writing time more limited so I can't guarantee consistent updates but I'll do my best. In the meantime you can also find me on Tumblr at my art blog [Oops I Arted.](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/)


	4. Breakout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din decides it's time to take matters in to his own hands.

Din knew as soon as he heard the child wailing away down the hallway. He’d been jolted out of the light sleep he’d managed to achieve on the rock-hard cot and had found himself at the door before he was fully awake. He hadn’t been able to see him at all, but those cries were unmistakable. They were taking his kid away. 

He forced himself not to think of the kid's expression when the Imperials had taken him. He could still see those sad brown eyes fixed on him clear as day. All he could hope was that the kid had heard him say that he was coming, and believed him.

He clenched his fists. He  _ had _ to get out of here as soon as possible. He didn't know much about Belsavis, though he'd heard the rumors about the New Republic having a prison planet for people they were too noble to execute but were too dangerous to keep in a normal prison. He'd bet his beskar security there was a nightmare, though. Better to break out here, in territory he knew, while his ship and gear were still within reach.

Clanking distracted him, and he looked outside to see a droid patrol pass by. They stayed well out of his reach. Din growled. He'd had no doubt the New Republic forces had already seen the security footage of how he'd escaped last time, but he'd half-hoped they'd be stupid enough to let him try something similar again. He'd have to think of something else.

He paced the cell, unable to lay down and rest even though he still desperately needed it. The cuffs weighed heavily on him with every step. Those would be the biggest problem. He'd have to assume they could be activated remotely. One wrong move and he'd be shocked into unconsciousness again. He sure didn’t think Narro or any of her ilk would hesitate.

Din ran his fingers absently over his jumpsuit, trying to think. He didn’t even know where his armor was, or if they’d stripped his ship, and he didn’t want to leave without his full armory. Who knew what he’d end up facing on Coruscant.

“Ouch,” he grumbled as his finger caught on a loose wire. Inspecting the suit more closely, he could see that someone had picked apart a few wires in each beskar section, making a fast reattachment impossible. He groaned. Another complication he didn’t need when every second a transport was carrying his kid further and further away.

He resisted the urge to kick the stupid round door out of sheer frustration and instead made himself admit it: he had nothing. He was completely unarmed, he would probably be shocked into unconsciousness if Narro got so much as a whim, and no one was going to be stupid enough to get close to his cell.

Unless he forced them to.

-

Din made himself sleep a few more hours first. Even though he couldn’t stop hearing his kid’s distraught cries echoing through his mind, he forced himself to lay down and rest. He was already hungry almost to the point of distraction and he doubted his captors would be handing out food anytime soon. The least he could do for himself was to get some rest.

When he woke up he waited, listening for the droid patrol to walk by first. Once they were out of earshot, he made a show of unsteadily sitting up, staggering to his feet, and then collapsing. He twitched his limbs a little for effect.

He was half-afraid Narro would consider denying medical treatment a neat way of getting rid of him and derail his plan, but luckily it was only a few minutes before hurrying feet and voices came into earshot. “He was quadruple electroshocked! It’s no surprise there’s aftereffects!” said the familiar voice of the nicer medic. He suppressed a sigh. If Din had to choose someone not to harm on this vessel, it would probably be him, but Din had a kid to rescue.

“Be careful, Garn,” warned another voice as the door hissed open.

“He’s stun-cuffed. It’s fine,” said a third dismissively.

Din squinted through his helmet. He’d made sure he’d fallen at an angle that let him see who came through the door. Garn the medic was already kneeling at his side, pulling out a scanner, and there were two guards with their riot blasters trained on him, standing behind Garn. He scanned their belts, eyes fixing on the dampening device that would deactivate his cuffs. He had to get that first, and fast.

“Huh,” said Garn, frowning at the scanner that no doubt said Din was perfectly fine. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t?” asked one of the guards, stepping in range.

Din swept the guard’s leg, sending him crashing to the floor, and rammed his helmet up at Garn, headbutting him right in the chest. Both squealed in surprise as Din rolled away from the second guard’s stun shot and snatched the dampening device off the first guard’s belt. He pressed the release and the cuffs on his wrists and ankles fell open. He snatched up the cuffs and whipped the chain at the last guard, knocking him on his back, and then took out the other guard the same way before grabbing the closest fallen riot blaster and training it on Garn.

Garn immediately raised his hands over his head. “Don’t shoot me!” he squeaked.

“Where’s my stuff?”

“Medbay, far as I know. Admiral told us to wait for her orders to do anything with it and she hasn’t said anything.” Garn swallowed. “Don’t shoot me, please…”

Din motioned to the cell. “Get in.”

Garn went in willingly and Din tossed the half-conscious guards in after once he’d stripped them of their utility belts and the items on them. One was clutching his chest and the other was bleeding from what was probably a broken nose, but they looked like they’d be all right. Din had zero interest in pissing off the New Republic even further at this point. He locked them in and hurried on, hastily securing the belts around his own waist.

He still remembered the way to the medbay from being hauled around between there and the interrogation room and wasted no time running there, riot blaster at the ready and cuffs looped over his arm. There were no alarms blaring but he was certain a silent alarm had probably been triggered the second whoever was monitoring the cameras noticed what was going on. He met no resistance on his way and that was a bad sign. Narro was likely setting up her forces in an ambush for him either at the medbay or at his ship, the two places she knew he had to go.

He was proven right when he stopped at the last bend before the medbay and looked ahead. Droids and living soldiers were assembling around the entrance, and he'd guess more were already inside.

He fumbled with the belt of gear he'd taken from the guards. Extra cuffs, the dampener, comms - not much to weaponize there. But when his hand went to his back, he felt an oblong shape, and pulled out a short stun baton. He inspected it and found it had a pretty strong power pack. Now this he could use.

Din fiddled with the standard controls. Power pack set to overload and the baton was already getting hot in his hands. He turned the baton up to its highest setting and it spat blue sparks with a loud buzzing sound. It was so hot it was almost burning his ungloved hand. 

One of the guards shouted “Ready! He's coming!”

_ I sure am, _ thought Din, and he stepped out and threw the overloaded baton right in the middle of the New Republic forces.

The second the baton impacted the floor it exploded. Blue electricity arced between them all, frying the droids and dropping the soldiers to the floor. Din was already running, blaster raised, shooting stun blasts as anyone still standing and the other forces now pouring out of the medbay.

There were a half dozen more, at least. Din snatched up a fallen droid to shield him from their stun blasts before throwing it in their faces. He knocked down two and used his set of cuffs to bludgeon two more, a shot of his riot blaster ensuring they stayed down. One charged straight at him; Din got him in a chokehold and used him as a shield as he shot down three more who came out of the medbay before throwing the first man to the ground and stunning him too.

After a moment no one else came out and Din cautiously went in. The medbay was basic, bare of more than the essentials, and a quick look around revealed his gear was piled haphazardly into a crate in the corner. He activated the crate's antigrav and snatched the follow remote, stuffing it in a pocket to ensure the crate stayed close. With the broken wiring there was no time to suit up, so he locked his right gauntlet over his arm - he could still activate the flamethrower manually - and started for the door.

That was when an alarm screeched and all the lights went red. “Full lockdown initiated,” blared the automated voice as the door started closing. “Full lockdown initiated.”

“Fuck,” growled Din, and he bolted for the door. He barely made it through, yanking the crate of precious beskar after him; it barely scraped its way through, long scars left on the side of the box.

He ran to where the  _ Razor Crest _ was docked - or, where it was supposed to be docked, assuming Narro hadn’t had it moved. The thought made his chest hurt; the ship was his only chance at freedom and getting his kid.

Caution was a waste of time right now and he barreled straight into the hall he’d been originally captured in. His ship was still there, a New Republic soldier busy pushing up the ladder. Narro stood in front, a half-dozen soldiers behind her. Din grinned to himself. He’d never known how many she’d originally brought, but clearly she’d sent the majority to the medbay and was running out of bodies.

“Don’t move, Mandalorian,” said Narro, her blaster already ready and aimed at his unarmored chest. She turned up the corners of her lips but it was no smile. “It’s not set to stun.”

Din stopped, regarding her. The six soldiers behind her were also aiming at him, and he doubted they were set to stun either.

“I should’ve shot you when you were first captured,” said Narro. “But I’m not like your kind. I follow the law. I don’t kill indiscriminately. I don’t harm children.  _ Innocent children.” _

Din didn’t bother arguing. People like her weren’t interested in listening.

“I won’t tell you again,” said Narro. “Disarm yourself and put your hands up. Get down on your knees.”

Din set down the riot blaster and the cuffs. He dropped to his knees before he raised his hands and put them behind his head.

Narro’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t waver in her aim. “Cuff him,” she ordered her men.

The two approached him cautiously, blasters raised. Din waited, carefully inching one hand over the opposite wrist. They got close enough that one of them holstered his blaster and pulled out stun cuffs instead, and that was when Din activated the flamethrower.

Both soldiers screamed as the flames hit them, stumbling back blindly. Din reached behind and snatched the first piece of beskar he touched before raising it as a shield in front of his chest.

The other soldiers and Narro were firing at him and he charged, head down, letting the beskar take the brunt, flamethrower roaring. It felt like lines of fire burned across his arms and legs, but he kept going until he rammed straight into Narro, knocking her over. He kept going, straight into the four others, flamethrower pointed at their faces and driving them back. One grabbed his arm, and he grunted with pain but bludgeoned them right in the face with the breastplate in his hand. They let go and he reached back to find the crate had still followed him. He threw it upwards and jumped just high enough to snatch the still half-lowered ladder, launching himself up after it.

He could hear Narro and her soldiers screaming - rage or pain he didn’t know, but he hoped none of them were dead, if only to avoid enraging the New Republic further - but then it was cut off by the hatch closing. He raced to the cockpit to find the ship in standby; Narro’s man ordered to slice his ship must’ve been working and been forced to turn it on. Din disengaged from the prison ship and wrenched the  _ Razor Crest _ away as laser cannons started firing. He rocketed away, putting in a random short jump, and in seconds the stars streamed into blue starlines.

Din gasped a breath and slumped backwards; adrenaline was fading and now the pain was coming in. He looked down and saw that while he’d avoided fatal hits, he’d taken more than a few shots and his limbs were scored with laser burns. None had landed a clear hit, but he’d been grazed enough to hurt.

The crate of his beskar was still behind him when he looked. It hovered next to the chair with the makeshift cradle he’d constructed out of an extra crate for the kid. It looked bigger, now that it was empty. The blue blanket was still rumpled from the last time the kid had been in it.

The ship dropped out of hyperspace and he calculated another short jump, then another, random wild ones to throw off pursuers. He ran a scan for trackers, then another to be sure, then another, and only stopped when he realized his hands were shaking so badly he could barely operate the controls.

Another random jump. A longer one this time. He set it in before stumbling off to his cot, pulling it down from the wall. He collapsed, and despite the pain it wasn’t long before he was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed an entire chapter of Din kicking ass. I love it when he rampages in the show.
> 
> Baby Yoda isn't in this one because he's flying towards Coruscant right now, so his take on this chapter is "I WANT MY DAD". But if he was here he'd be cheering "Go, Dad, go!! ....Wait aren't you going to disintegrate anyone? I want sparkles."


	5. On The Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din regroups and seeks out help from a friend. Luke consults with Han and Leia about the new Force-user he's been put in charge of.

Din woke to aching muscles that screamed in protest when he finally moved. His head was still pounding and he was desperately in need of food or water. He sat up and automatically scanned for the kid to make sure he could remove his helmet, and then remembered. Suddenly the bitter taste in his mouth wasn’t from thirst.

He dragged himself to the cockpit to plot another short, random jump before looking after himself. Red skin burned under blackened marks on his jumpsuit, and he dug through his supplies to find a medpac along with some food. All he found was some basic bandaging along with a pair of ration bars, reminding him why he’d been so desperate as to take Ran’s job in the first place.

All the bravado or desperation in the world couldn’t change the fact that there was no way he could successfully rescue the kid like this. The kid was already halfway to Coruscant by now, and Din’s escape had surely already been reported. He had no idea if he’d killed Narro or her men, but at the very least Garn was unharmed and had survived and would be able to relay what had happened. Din needed to regroup.

Returning to Nevarro was out of the question; the Guild would be on him like flies on a ronto and much as he wanted to rejoin the covert, get aid from his  _ vode _ and advice from the Armorer, he couldn’t risk their safety even for this. The Armorer might even tell him it was a suicide mission, that their secrecy was their survival and that exposing himself to the New Republic further would only endanger his people, and forbid it. He had to leave them out of it. Besides, as far as he knew, none of them knew the New Republic.

But, Din realized, he knew someone who did.

-

The soldiers on the transport had brought a hover cradle for the child. Its crying had died down to sniffles after almost an hour, and soon enough Tolli realized it had fallen asleep and set it in the cradle. He hadn’t wanted to put it down sooner. No matter what the others said about the bounty hunter, it was clear the child had been attached to the Mandalorian. Privately, Tolli now thought it was likely the Mandalorian had been telling the truth about considering the child his own. He’d shouted to the child that he’d come get it, hadn’t he?

Tolli shuddered. He’d seen enough of what that man could do. He was under no illusions about his own skills; if the Mandalorian came after him, he’d be toast.

“We’ve made contact with Master Skywalker,” said Niam, jolting him out of his thoughts. “He’s agreed to take the child.”

“That’s good,” said Tolli. A Jedi would certainly be able to take on a Mandalorian. “So the child is his… apprentice? His uh, son? Daughter?”

Niam shrugged. “I don’t know how Jedi stuff works. Maybe he’ll keep it until it’s adopted by a suitable family if he doesn’t want to raise it himself.”

“As long as it’s safe,” said Tolli, reaching out and stroking a finger along the child’s ear, which twitched in its sleep.

Another soldier called Niam over and she left Tolli with his charge. He pulled the blanket up a little higher, making sure the child was tucked in snugly. “You’re gonna be all right, green bean,” he said softly. “No matter what, Master Skywalker will make sure you’re taken care of.”

Niam suddenly hurried back, a thunderous expression on her face. “Bad news,” she said. “The Mando escaped. They think he’s coming after the kid.”

-

“Hey, Mando,” said Cara Dune, her holographic portrait flickering over the projector. She looked Din up and down. “You look rough. Run into some trouble?”

He’d only meant to give her minimal details, enough to get what he needed from her, but found the entire story pouring out of his mouth. The difficulty finding work and the lack of credits when there were two mouths to feed and how it’d driven him to reach out to old contacts. The job to rescue Qin and how it’d all gone wrong at every turn. How the New Republic had captured him and taken the kid and he’d been unable to get him back, and now the kid was headed for Coruscant. “I have to get him back, Cara,” he said, his voice breaking. “I promised him, I have to get him back.”

“Calm down,” said Cara. “You said they sent him to Coruscant. Did they say why?”

“They’re sending him to someone called Skywalker,” said Din.

Cara’s eyebrows flew up. “You’re sure?”

“You know him? Who is it?” demanded Din.

Cara glanced around, then said, “Come to Sorgan.”

“I’m going to Coruscant,” said Din angrily. “I have to get my kid. If you’re not going to tell me anything -”

“Not on an open channel like this,” said Cara. “Come to Sorgan. You need to resupply anyway, from the sound of it.”

Din couldn’t argue with that, but the idea of delaying when his kid was already in the New Republic’s clutches screamed against every sensible thought. “I can’t wait. He’s already going to beat me there, and if -”

“Listen to me. Skywalker’s  _ not _ going to hurt him,” said Cara urgently. “You hear me? I might have my issues with the New Republic, but if they’re sending him to Skywalker,  _ they’re not going to hurt him. _ The only thing that’s going to hurt your boy is if you go in half-cocked and get yourself killed. All right?”

Din sighed. “All right.”

“These coordinates. I’ll be waiting.” Cara signed off.

Din programmed in a jump for Sorgan and sent the  _ Razor Crest _ into hyperspace. Her words had done little to calm him. Din had promised his kid he’d get him back, and he wasn’t going to stop until he did, and it didn’t matter who this Skywalker was.

-

“Luke! This is a surprise,” said Leia as soon as she opened the door. Even this early in the morning she was already dressed and ready for the day, her brown hair braided and her robes devoid of a single wrinkle. “Come in. We just sat down to breakfast.”

“Thanks,” said Luke, stepping inside his sister’s Coruscant high rise apartment and hanging his cloak on the nearby rack before following her inside. Han and the twins were at the table already, and all three beamed as he entered. “Uncle Luke!” squealed Jaina and Jacen, almost drowning out Han’s “Hi, kid.”

“Good morning,” Luke told them all, joining them at the table and accepting the hugs Jacen and Jaina sprang up to give him before returning to their own chairs.

“It’s early for you,” said Han, piling eggs and toast and fruit onto the plate Leia set in front of Luke as he sat. “Thought for sure you’d still be meditating at this hour.”

“I was,” said Luke, digging in. He hadn’t even had breakfast yet, though he didn’t have much of an appetite at the moment. The cook droid Han had gotten to help Threepio out with chores was good at its job, however, and he wasn’t going to turn its offerings down.

“Are you giving us a Jedi lesson today, Uncle Luke?” asked Jaina brightly, swinging her feet from her booster chair.

“Will you take us to the Coruscanti Zoo again?” begged Jacen. “Last time I made a connection with the nexu, I know I did!”

Leia was eyeing him more seriously than the twins. Luke never could hide anything from her. “Everything all right, Luke?” she asked, her voice carefully neutral.

“Hey, you kids are done. Go brush your teeth and get dressed. Have Threepio help you,” said Han, picking up on his wife’s mood. The twins whined but he shooed them along, promising they’d get to talk to Uncle Luke after he and Mom had their turn. Luke ate while the two little ones left, and after they were safely in Threepio’s hands turned to face his sister.

“Luke, what’s wrong?” asked Leia without preamble.

“I got a message early this morning,” Luke said as Han and Leia sat opposite him, their own plates ignored as they listened to him. “A Force-sensitive infant was found in a bounty hunter’s ship. He was trying to spring one of his friends out and got caught, and the baby was found when they swept his ship. The Admiral in charge of reclaiming the ship said the baby needed a safe haven, immediately, and since her people saw it use the Force, they wanted me to take it.”

“So what’d you say?” asked Han.

“Well, yes, of course,” said Luke. “I guess the hunter was a nasty piece of work. They were worried he’d steal the baby back at the first opportunity. The Admiral said he admitted he had even had dealings with Imperials, and they were after the baby. I couldn’t say no.” He sighed and set his fork down. “But a baby… Watching Jacen and Jaina for a few hours is one thing. And this baby isn’t even a known species. They couldn’t identify it.” He looked up and Han was grinning at him. “What?”

“Congratulations on becoming a father,” said Han with a chuckle.

“What? I’m not a father,” said Luke. “You can’t just pick up a baby and become its father.” He sighed. “Besides, it’s not like I have the greatest example of one.”

Leia reached over and took his hand, and when he looked up he saw she had a warm smile. “Don’t you think I felt the same when I found out we were having the twins?” she asked. “But you know more than you think. Whenever I doubt myself I always find myself thinking back to what Father and Mother would’ve done, and you can remember your Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.”

Luke smiled. “Thanks, Leia. It’s just so sudden, and I don’t know anything about the baby yet.”

“You know he needs someone to look after him,” said Han. “That’s a good start.”

“Why don’t you bring him here with us?” asked Leia. “I’ve already been notified of a report on the incident with the prison ship waiting for me in the office. I can get caught up on that and we can touch base when I get home. Han and I can help you out with the baby. And I’m certain Jacen and Jaina would love to welcome him and share their toys.”

“I can get out the crib again,” said Han. “I’m certain we’ve got more baby stuff jammed in the closet if I look. And security’s tight here, so even if that hunter does try and snatch the baby back, we’ll be able to stop him.”

“Thanks. Both of you.” Luke stared at his hands. “I just… I’ve been thinking about what it would mean to train the next generation of Jedi for years, and I thought I’d have more time to prepare with your two, but now I’ve got this poor kid dropped on me, and I don’t feel ready at all.”

Han reached over to give him a friendly punch on the arm. “We knew Jacen and Jaina were coming for nine months and we still didn’t feel ready when they arrived.”

“It’ll be fine, Luke,” said Leia. “I’m sure all that baby wants is someone to treat it kindly and love it. You’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so,” said Luke.

-

Din knew he should rest more but he couldn’t make himself. He tried settling into fixing his jumpsuit and reattaching his beskar but he kept having to wander into the cockpit and seeing how far away Sorgan was. It still felt wrong - racing away from Coruscant and his kid, not towards - but he reminded himself over and over he needed intel. Cara was right, barreling in would just get him killed.

Luckily the damage to the wiring was minimal and he was able to get his beskar back in order without needing any tools he didn’t already have in the ship. By the time he finished there were still two hours to go to Sorgan. He was still too restless and trying to sleep would be a waste of time, so he went back to the cockpit and started to run what diagnostics and maintenance checks he could while in hyperspace.

He was distracted as soon as he turned to a back console and saw the makeshift seat he’d constructed for the child. The child always wanted to follow him instead of staying in the little bunk he’d set up for it, and a mishap with turning the ship too hard had made him realize the kid needed something to keep him safe while sitting in the adult-sized chair. He plucked at the blue blanket. It was starting to fray and it was so thin. Surely he had something better.

A raid of the entire ship produced another blanket and a few spare pieces of foam jammed behind a loose panel. Din ended up sitting in the cockpit, trying to pad the crate with the foam and figuring out the best way to fold the blankets. He even found a rag to wrap around a piece of foam to make a makeshift pillow. At least when he got the kid back, he’d be more comfortable.

Was the kid scared right now? He’d sounded distressed when Din had heard him on the prison ship. Did the New Republic even know what to feed him? Din had figured out through trial and error the kid only ate meat, and had to be tricked into eating ration bars when pickings got slim. When he got the kid back he’d have to get him something special, to try and make up for the horrible experience. Maybe another live frog. Din didn’t like him eating those, but he’d never choked or seemed distressed about it, so maybe it’d be a good treat.

He was so absorbed in searching for planets with frogs he practically jumped when the ship’s alert went off. Shutting off the Holonet, he dropped the ship out of hyperspace, and flew towards the green world of Sorgan.

Cara’s coordinates were new, a different place than the village they’d met or the krill farm settlement where they’d lived for a few weeks, although close to both. She was already waiting when the  _ Razor Crest _ swooped low to the ground and landed in a small clearing among the trees. By the time Din made it down the gangplank she was already at the bottom, bouncing back and forth on her feet.

“Hey,” said Cara as he walked out. “How you doing?”

“Tell me about Skywalker.”

Cara snorted. “Never one for pleasantries, are you? I brought food. Come here.”

Din sighed and followed her over to a pair of small crates; she pulled out a thermos and handed it to him. “Got some soup from the local cantina. Eat up.”

Din motioned to his helmet. “Later.”

Cara stuck a straw in his face. “You said you were almost out of food. I said eat up.”

He sighed again, but he knew from experience there was no dissuading her when she was in a stubborn mood. Cara motioned for him to sit on one of the crates and he did; she pulled a medpac out of the other one before sitting herself. “How bad are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“You missed patching your suit in at least three places. I can see the burns,” said Cara. “Sit still.”

Din let her smear burn gel on what exposed blaster burns she could see while he worked on the soup. He had to admit it felt a lot better than running them under the sink, which was all the medical care he’d managed on the ship, and that a full stomach helped too.

“Did you kill any of them?” asked Cara eventually.

“I tried not to,” said Din. “But I can’t be sure about Narro and the ones guarding my ship.”

Cara nodded. Finally, she said, “Narro was always a hardass but she looks after her own, from what I’ve heard. She’ll make sure they’re all right.”

“You serve with her?”

“No, but I’d heard about her.” Cara capped the container of gel. “Parents and sister killed by some Mandalorians working for the Imps when she was young. She joined the Rebellion early on, was really involved.”

Din nodded to himself at that tidbit; that made sense. He set down the empty thermos. “Who’s Skywalker?”

“So you’ve really never heard of Luke Skywalker?” asked Cara incredulously. “Hero of the Rebellion? Took out the first Death Star, Darth Vader, the Emperor himself? The first Jedi since the old Order was exterminated?”

Din shrugged. “We don’t always get news from the Core in the Outer Rim.”

“Okay, you said the kid can do magic tricks with his mind, right?” asked Cara. “He did something in front of the New Republic guys?”

“Narro said so. He must’ve while I was out or imprisoned,” said Din, his chest tightening at the thought. “He did it when I first found him. Lifted the mudhorn attacking me up in the air.”

“Okay, so Luke Skywalker can do the same thing,” said Cara. “That’s what the Jedi do, that and use their laser swords. I never served with him but I’d hear the stories. One of my buddies was on Crait and I guess Skywalker saved him from a collapsed wall. Stopped it from falling on him and moved it out of the way.” She gave Din's shoulder a gentle whack, making him look at her. “Look, if nothing else, he’s not going to hurt your boy. I never heard a single word about him not being kind. I don’t know if they want Skywalker to guard him or teach him or what. But the kid’s safe for now.”

“Okay,” said Din. He believed her, but that didn’t change what had happened. “But I promised him I’d get him back. And I will.”

“I believe you,” said Cara, standing and packing away the gel. “I’m just saying, you might not have to go in all guns blazing. And if you do… well. I’d love to see you fight a Jedi, but I’d rather you not get killed doing it.” She squinted at him. “Or kill one of the heroes of the New Republic.”

“The New Republic is already pissed off at me and that’s the last thing I need,” said Din. “I just want to get the kid and get out. That’s why I came to you. You know the New Republic. I need your help navigating the Core.”

Cara sighed. “I told you I have my issues with the New Republic. But I’m not interested in harming it either.”

“I don’t want to harm it,” said Din impatiently. “I want my kid.”

“I know.” Cara folded her arms, staring off into the trees for a moment. Finally she turned back. “I need your word on something.”

“I won’t harm anyone or anything I don’t have to,” said Din. “You have my word.”

“Not just that,” said Cara. “Skywalker’s sister, Leia of Alderaan. Swear you aren’t going to harm her.”

“Leia Skywalker?” asked Din.

“Leia Organa. Senator from Alderaan. To us, she’s -” Cara cut herself off. “I doesn’t matter. Promise.”

“I promise,” said Din.

Cara sat back down on the crate. “All right. Look, I’m not going to lie, it’s been years since I’ve been on Coruscant. But here’s what I remember about security there...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments! Tbh I kind of just started writing it on a whim and I didn't expect this kind of response, so it means a lot y'all are enjoying.
> 
> Once again Baby Yoda isn't really in this chapter, but if he was his viewpoint could be summed up as "Stranger danger, come get me Dad!!!"


	6. New Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke meets his new charge. Din prepares for a rescue mission.

Luke waited with Leia in the back private receiving room. It had been decided that going in one of the Senate building's secret security entrances would be safest for the baby, especially since the Mandalorian had apparently escaped the prison ship, according to the report a furious and injured Admiral Narro had submitted directly to Leia last night. 

Luke stared at the datapad his sister had lent him, eyeing the holos of the man who had escaped a New Republic prison ship cell not once, but twice. He recognized the shape of the armor from his encounters with Boba Fett, although this man wore unadorned silver rather than Boba’s green. Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who captured Han and worked for Jabba the Hutt, the most infamous slaver and crime boss of Tatooine. What kind of life had the baby had with this hunter?

“They're on their way,” Leia said, interrupting his musings. Luke put away the datapad. Regardless of anything else, the most important thing was to make the baby feel welcomed and comfortable. 

A few minutes passed before the group arrived, led by a Sarkhai woman. The soldiers were in formation around a closed hover cradle, except for a young Zabrak who walked beside the cradle with his hand on it. “Master Skywalker, Senator Organa, I'm Captain Niam,” said the Sarkhai. “We have the package for you, safe and sound.”

“Thank you, Captain,” said Luke. He was itching with curiosity in spite of himself, and asked, “Can I meet the baby?”

“Of course,” said Niam, gesturing to the Zabrak. “Ensign Tolli?”

“We still don't know the species, but I had to change him and he is a boy,” said Tolli as he put a code into the keypad on the cradle. “He should be awake now, too, I heard him fussing a minute ago.”

The cradle opened, and Luke gasped as he found himself face to face with a baby Yoda.

“Luke?” asked Leia after a moment. “What is it?” 

“This -” He pointed at the baby, which cooed curiously at him. “This is the same species as Master Yoda.”

“What species was he?” asked Leia.

“I don’t know the name, but it was this one.” Luke gestured to the baby, who followed his hands with its dark eyes. “The color, the shape, stature, the  _ ears _ \- it’s - it’s a tiny, baby Yoda.”

The baby babbled something, cocking his head curiously. “I think he likes you, sir,” said Tolli brightly.

Luke shook away his shock. This child was not Yoda, and he could wonder about similarities later. Right now the baby was in a new place with new people and deserved his full attention. “Hello,” he said, reaching out his hand. “I’m Luke Skywalker.”

The baby stared at his finger, hesitating, but finally cooed and reached out to carefully grasp his finger.

Luke couldn’t have helped the smile spreading across his face if he’d tried. “It’s nice to meet you, little one.” The baby was entrancing, impossibly adorable, and even if he hadn’t already been told he would’ve known it was strong in the Force. He could sense it, like a little star in front of him.

“I think he likes you already,” said Leia, leaning in; Luke moved to let her look at the baby too. “Hello there,” she said, reaching out her own finger; the baby took it with his free hand.

“Do you need an escort to your next location?” asked Niam.

“No thank you,” said Luke, “I think secrecy will be best, now that he’s made it to Coruscant. Thank you for bringing him safely.”

“Of course,” said Niam. “Any other intel about the child or the Mando will be sent straight to both of you. The Admiral’s making sure he’s known to all the ports. If he shows his face here, he’ll get caught soon as he hits atmosphere.”

The child whined, letting go of Luke and Leia’s fingers. Luke smiled at him reassuringly again before turning to Niam. “Is there anything else I should know before you go?”

“He’ll eat soup but we haven’t tried anything else,” said Niam. “That soup bowl in the cradle was just something he took a fancy too. The robe is the only possession he had that we found on the Mando’s ship.”

Luke was about to thank them again and dismiss him when he sensed a flicker of doubt. “Ensign Tolli? Was there something else?”

“Me?” blurted the young Ensign. His face reddened and he shifted on his feet before asking, “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Of course,” said Luke.

“I know no one here will agree with me,” said Tolli in a rush, “but I think the Mando might’ve been telling the truth when he claimed the kid as his.”

“Tolli,” hissed Niam, but Luke waved a hand and gave her a placating look. “It’s all right, Ensign,” he said. “I want your opinion. Why do you think that?”

“The kid’s been trying to get back to him,” said Tolli. “That’s when we saw him use the Force, because he knocked over one of the droids that had the Mando. He kept trying to get out of the cell we were secured in, and then when we walked by the Mando’s cell he tried to get to him again. And he cried and cried when we left the prison ship, like he knew the Mando was far away now.”

“That Mando was a nasty piece of work, sir,” said Niam. “Had the kid locked in a bunk on his ship without any food or anything. And it was hungry when we got it, like it hadn’t been fed.”

Tolli continued on, heedless of Niam’s interruption. “The Mando kept demanding the kid back, and maybe it is because the kid’s his ticket to a payout, but when we walked by his cell he was yelling at the kid that he’d come get him.” He squared his shoulders. “Even if I’m wrong and the Mando doesn’t care about the kid, the kid cares about the Mando. To him, the Mando’s someone important. If nothing else I think you should know that, sir.”

His compatriots were all glaring at him or giving him incredulous looks. “Thank you for your honesty, Tolli,” said Luke. “It’s important to me the child feel comfortable here, so this is good to know.”

Tolli nodded. “Thank you, sir.” He reached out and patted the baby on the head, and said, “I know you will, but please take good care of this little green bean, sir. I told him you would.”

Luke smiled. “I will, Ensign. I promise.”

Leia and Luke thanked the soldiers again before Leia formally dismissed them and they left. Tolli hung back, just a little, and at the door suddenly rushed back to the cradle. “Good-bye, green bean,” he said, stroking the child’s head and ears. The child cooed at him. “You’re gonna be all right, I promise.” He glanced back at Luke and Leia, then rushed away, cheeks flaming.

The child babbled a sound after Tolli and waved his little hand. Leia smiled, gently touching one of the oversized ears. “He is very cute. No wonder Tolli got attached.” She looked up at her brother. “What do you think about what he said? About the Mandalorian?”

“Well, he believes it to be true.” It was habit now to search out feelings in the Force when someone passed him information, and Luke had felt nothing but sincerity from the young Zabrak. “It seems unlikely a bounty hunter would bring his kid along on a prison ship heist, though.”

The baby chirped, staring up at them expectantly. “It’s too bad you can’t talk to us,” said Luke, reaching out a finger again. The baby stared at it this time, and Luke gave up and withdrew it. “I don’t even have a name to call you.”

“We’ll figure it out,” said Leia with a smile. She patted his shoulder. “Let’s take him home and get him settled. I pulled in some favors and cleared the day, and Han’s gotten the crib out, and the twins are really excited to meet him.”

Luke reached for the cradle’s controls and the baby squawked an objection at him. “It’s all right,” said Luke soothingly. “I’m only going to close it for a little bit. I’ll open it when we get home.”

The ears perked up at the word “home,” and this time when Luke reached for the controls, the baby settled back in his cradle and didn’t object as the top closed and sealed. Luke patted the lightsaber on his belt to make sure it was in easy reach. “Let’s go, Leia.”

-

Cara was waving as the  _ Razor Crest _ rose into the air, and even though he wasn’t sure she could see him, Din waved back. The ship rocketed up into space, and he set in coordinates for a fueling station that wouldn’t ask questions for an extra tip. He wanted the ship to be fully fueled before he set out for Coruscant.

Once the  _ Razor Crest _ was in hyperspace Din took stock of his new supplies. Cara had given him both crates she’d brought, full of food and medical supplies, and had refused the offer of what few credits he had left. Instead she’d “charged” him for her help by insisting he participate in one of the fight shows in the cantina. He’d objected at first, unwilling to waste time, but his brawl with Cara had brought in plenty of bets on whether the reigning champion could beat a Mandalorian, and he had to admit it was good to have a rematch with her. She’d won in the end, as she’d told him she wasn’t about to have him ruin the reputation she’d established, but he’d made her work for the victory and the show had been so good they’d earned a decent chunk of credits. When he’d tried to split it evenly, she gave him most of it. “I’ll earn more tomorrow,” she’d said. “You’ve got a rescue mission to fund.”

Din sorted and put away his purchases. Cara had given him a decent amount of food and medical supplies that he’d supplemented with more. He’d also agreed with her assessment that his armor was far too conspicuous and gone down to the market after the fight, where he’d found an elderly tailor hawking her wares. He’d gotten a generously sized black hooded poncho that would cover him just past the waist and elbows, and a sturdy shawl he’d be able to fashion into a  _ kama _ that would hide his leg plates; once he cut it he’d be able to use the excess as a scarf for his lower face as well, to try and keep his helmet as hidden as possible. The tailor had been folding up his purchases when he’d spotted a box of plush animals. When she saw him looking, she’d smiled and said she’d made them for her boy when he was young, and he’d loved them so much she’d started making ones to sell.

Burning through credits on frivolities would be stupid, especially when he didn’t know when his next job would be, but Din found himself buying a little green frog from her anyway. He tucked it in the kid’s crate. It would be a nice surprise for when he got back.

Cara had given him information on the capital city-planet and where Skywalker would likely be. She had a list of names he could call in for favors on her behalf and had given him the code phrases that would ensure they knew he had her blessing. She’d even given him various frequencies that should still be clear for use on the planet, though she warned him it’d been so long she couldn’t guarantee they were safe. Most importantly she’d updated him on the culture of the planet - to flee lower and lower to escape the law, which cantinas she knew that would turn a blind eye to criminals, the local codes scratched on walls to mark safehouses or known snitches. He was surprised a former soldier knew so much about the underground, but she’d brushed him off when he’d said something, and he didn’t pursue it. He trusted Cara and she was entitled to her privacy.

He’d almost asked her to come along. There were so few people he trusted, and she was good in a scrap and someone he’d know would have his back. But like she’d said, no matter her issues, the New Republic was not something she was interested in going against. He wouldn’t ask that of her.

Once again he found himself knowing that the best thing would be to rest even though he didn’t want to. Din sighed. Maybe he could go through the weapons locker, busy his hands to settle his mind, prepare for the mission ahead.

But somehow he found himself not wanting to leave the cockpit, rearranging the kid's crate’s contents again and again. Somehow, it was very important that it be the most comfortable little seat the galaxy had ever seen.

-

Luke was glad the trip home was uneventful. He was worried the closed hover cradle would draw eyes, but no one paid him or Leia much mind. They went out a private entrance with Leia’s friend and aide, Winter, and then Winter melted away as they took a speeder home. Other security forces were shadowing them, but none signaled trouble, and they made it back to Leia’s apartment without incident.

Winter had informed them that Han had the twins down for a nap and the new baby could enter the house in peace. Han himself was waiting for them as they walked inside and hung up their cloaks. “That’s the kid?” he asked, pointing to the cradle.

“That’s him,” confirmed Luke.

“At least let us get in the door, Han,” said Leia, smiling as she leaned in to kiss her husband.

Han returned the kiss. “I took the twins to the park this morning so they’re good and tired. They can’t stop talking about the baby. They each picked out a toy to share with him.” He chuckled. “And a few he can’t have, ever.”

“Let’s get him out of there,” said Luke. He could sense restlessness inside the silver cradle.

Han led the way to the living room, where he proudly pointed out his child-proofing efforts, which included rearranging the furniture to leave an open space between the two couches and the low table. “Threepio’s powered down now. Claimed helping move the furniture was too much for his circuits.” Han chuckled. “Figured the kid didn’t need Threepio hovering anyway.”

A loud squawk from inside the cradle indicated that the occupant was done being hidden away. “All right, little one,” said Luke. “Let’s get you out.”

He opened the cradle and the baby immediately poked his head out, ears perked up and eyes wide, but as soon as he looked around the big ears drooped and he sank back into his pod with a disappointed chirr.

“Huh,” said Han. “Well, it’s not human.”

“Luke says it’s the same species as Yoda,” Leia told him.

“That green Jedi on the swamp planet?” asked Han, eyebrows raising. “What species is that? Lannik?”

“Not Lannik. They aren’t green.” Luke knelt down in front of the cradle. “It’s all right. Do you want out?” The baby stared at him, cooing softly to himself, but didn’t object when Luke slowly picked it up out of the cradle. It looked around at its surroundings; one hand grasped Luke’s sleeve but then snatched back, as if it hadn’t been expecting to feel the cloth.

“Whaddaya think, little guy?” asked Han, offering the baby a finger, which it took and shook experimentally before letting go. “Like the view from up here?”

“This is Han, and this is Leia,” said Luke as his sister and friend beamed at the baby. He felt a little silly, introducing them when the baby couldn’t even talk and he had no idea how much it understood, but if nothing else he wanted the Force-sensitive child to pick up feelings of friendliness and safety. “They said we could stay here for a little while.”

The child squeaked at him, looking around the room. “What do you think?” asked Luke.

The baby looked down, then kicked its feet and flailed, trying to get out of his grasp. Bemused, he obligingly set the baby down, carefully making sure it was seated on the carpet. The second he let go the baby sprang up and was off.

Han laughed. “Fast little thing.”

Leia frowned. “What’s he after?”

The three of them trailed after the baby, ready to spring into action if he was about to endanger himself. Luke had to admit he was curious what had caught the child’s interest, but there was no pattern. He ran under the table and around the couches, pattered past the cabinets and the shelves, and finally headed further into the apartment.

It had to be a comical sight, the three adults following the little green baby. They followed him into the dining room and watched him weave under the table and chairs, avoiding a stuffed loth-cat Jacen had forgotten in the room. They hovered closer in the kitchen, but the cook droid had already secured everything and the child’s attempts to get in the pantry were thwarted. “Are you hungry?” asked Luke, but the jogan fruit he held out was ignored as the child continued on.

He was looking for something, that much was clear, but Luke had no idea what. The child toddled purposefully into Leia’s study and Han’s workroom, carefully herded away from anything too interesting, though never objecting to being redirected or really trying to grab anything. He did a circuit of Han and Leia’s bedroom and every ’fresher in the apartment, and tried to get into the twins’ room despite being foiled by the lock. He stood at the door for a moment, eyes half-shut, but whatever he sensed wasn’t what he wanted, and he continued on.

Last was the guest room that Luke had already prepared; he’d brought over his own clothes and other necessities, and Han had set up the crib. The child crawled under that, tapping and investigating the pale blue bottom and cooing curiously, but after a moment got out and headed back for the door.

“Wish I had his energy,” said Han.

“He’s got to be after something,” said Leia. “He’s so… purposeful.”

“I sense it too,” said Luke. The child was hard to read in the Force, something about him felt like he was… keeping his feelings close was the only way Luke could describe it. He could sense the presence but feelings were muted, somehow. A survival mechanism? Maybe the Mandalorian had discouraged displays of emotion? But the baby wanted something. That much he could feel.

They had gotten lax about following the kid so close and it was a mistake, because as soon as they reached the living room the kid bolted for the front door.

_ “No,” _ all three of them said in that kind-but-firm voice they used on Jacen and Jaina more times than they could count as they raced after the child.

Luke was the one who reached the baby first and snatched it up, earning himself a wail of protest. He bounced the baby in his arms. “We’re staying here, little one,” he said. “It’s safe here. No one’s going to grab you. You don’t have to run.”

_ “Naah,” _ whined the child, reaching for the door again. He looked up at Luke with a pleading expression. “Aah.”

Luke frowned, trying to get a read on the child and failing to get more than a vague feeling of panic or fear. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “Tired?”

Tears welled up in the baby’s eyes and it reached for the door again. “Naah,  _ daaah,” _ he said. He wanted something, he was trying to say something, but whatever it was Luke couldn’t understand.

“Maybe he’d like watching the speeders out the window,” said Leia. “That always calmed Jaina down.”

Luke carried the baby away from the door, patting his back comfortingly. The baby struggled, reaching back, but then whimpered and started to cry. “Shh, shh, it’s all right,” said Luke, walking to the big window in the living room and starting to sway, rocking the baby in his arms. “You’re safe here. It’s all right.”

But the baby only cried more, the tiny body trembling, his little claws grasping Luke’s shirt tight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't even know my delight when I realized Baby Yoda was about to encounter the one person who would, in-universe, legitimately think of him as a Baby Yoda.
> 
> If you aren't familiar with the Legends EU, Winter is an Alderaanian who grew up with Leia and was her best friend and confidant. She was very involved in the Rebellion and vital due to her perfect memory, and was an all-around badass. Like Cara, she's only a cameo in this fic because I had enough characters to manage, but she's definitely more than just "Leia's aide" and don't let this fic make you think otherwise. She's super cool!
> 
> Baby Yoda's take on things:  
> "Motherfucking new people and NONE OF YOU ARE DAD"  
> ".....But you seem nice so I'll tolerate it. Wait, you're taking me home?? Heck yeah let's go!"  
> "Wait, this isn't the Razor Crest. And Dad isn't here anywhere! You said you were taking me home! YOU LIED!"


	7. Welcomed to Coruscant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke tries to figure out how to care for the child. The child makes new friends. Din prepares to arrive on Coruscant.

Leia took a turn with the baby, and then Han did, and then it was Luke’s turn again. They rocked him, talked to him, offered him bone broth the cook droid made. The baby refused to eat, refused to sleep, and refused to be soothed in any way. He only cried, sniffling and mewling, the sound enough to break anyone’s heart.

Luke had finally set him on the floor, where he sat whimpering miserably and rubbing at his eyes, when Threepio shuffled in. “Princess Leia, the twins have woken from their nap and they are very eager to see the new baby.”

Leia frowned, glancing down at the crying child. “I don’t know, Threepio. He’s really upset.”

“Come on, Mommy, please?” asked Jaina, poking her head out from behind Threepio’s legs.

“We can cheer him up, Mommy!” said Jacen. He held up his stuffed loth-cat. “Look, I found the toy I wanted to share with him.”

“All right, but quiet voices and be gentle, Jacen, Jaina,” said Leia, standing up and walking over to meet the twins as they sprinted out. They slowed immediately, walking with her over to where the baby was still hiccuping but at least watching the twins with interest.

“Hello,” said Jaina. “My name’s Jaina, what’s your name?”

The baby stared at her and made a timid coo.

“I’m Jacen,” said Jacen. “Look, I brought this toy for you.” He stuck the loth-cat in the baby’s face.

The baby screeched and toppled backwards, scrambling to get away from the toy. Luke quickly knelt down and righted him, pulling the baby into his lap; the baby immediately howled and crawled back out, plopping himself back down on the floor.

Jacen had a hurt expression and Leia quickly gave him a kiss on the head. “It was kind of you to share your toy, Jacen. I’m sorry he didn’t like it.”

“He’s been having a hard time coming to a new place,” said Han. “Jaina, why don’t you offer him your toy? Go slow, don’t stick it in his face.”

“Here you go, baby,” said Jaina, holding out one of her toy ships. It was a freighter of some sort - Han probably knew - that had been well-played-with and had most of its silver paint chipped off. The baby took it, turning it over in his hands and cooing softly, but then he shrieked and threw it aside.

_ “No, _ baby!” said Jaina angrily, running after her ship.

Jacen was scowling too. “He doesn’t like us, Mommy.”

“Come here,” said Leia, holding out her arms. Jacen crawled into her lap and Jaina sat on Han’s leg. “I know he’s not being very nice right now,” said Leia, “but he’s very little, and he doesn’t know better yet. He  _ is _ a baby, you know.”

“Not only that, but remember what we told you?” said Han, bouncing Jaina on his knee. “He was in a scary place with mean people before he came here to stay with Uncle Luke. He’s been scared so much, he has to learn that he doesn’t have to be scared of us.”

Luke watched the twins eye the baby cautiously, idly noting the conflicting feelings within them, their three-year-old’s typical egocentrism warring against compassion. They must’ve been moved by Han and Leia’s words, because sadness was starting to bleed into the Force like an open wound, an unstoppable flood. He was surprised the twins weren’t in tears.

Wait.

It wasn’t the twins.

He was finally feeling the baby, the baby who was staring up at Han holding Jaina close with a look that could only be described as longing.

“Hey,” said Luke, reaching out his arms. The baby stared at him, eyes wet with tears. Luke smiled at him. “It’s all right, little one. Come here.”

The baby threw himself facedown on the floor and screamed, kicking his feet and pounding the carpet with little fists.

“Oh!” Jacen jumped down from his mother’s lap and hurried over. Gingerly, he started patting the baby’s back. “It’s okay, baby.”

Jaina slid off Han’s leg and ran for the toybox in the corner. Rummaging around, she pulled out a bright green ball. “Here you go, baby,” she said, bringing it over. “It’s green like you!”

The baby hiccuped, his cries ceasing, and sat up. He stared between the twins, his ears perking up a little.

Jaina rolled him the ball. “Play with us, baby!”

The baby reached out a hand, and without touching it, gently pushed the ball away.

Jaina and Jacen squealed with delight. “We can do that too!” said Jacen, and he, Jaina, and the baby started an impromptu game of Force ball. The baby was still sniffling, still occasionally whimpering, but the sadness he felt leaked away in the Force and he wasn’t screaming anymore.

Han and Leia were leaning on each other, watching their twins with a smile, but Luke kept watching the baby. He couldn’t get it out of his mind, the sadness in the Force, the expression on the child’s face as he watched Jaina held in her father’s arms.

He was starting to think he needed to get more details from Ensign Tolli.

-

Din flew the  _ Razor Crest _ out of the fueling station once he’d thrown the attendant an extra tip. A little extra insurance didn’t hurt to make sure he was forgotten. From there, it was time to head to Coruscant.

His route was more circuitous than he would like, formed from several jumps rather than one long one, but Cara had recommended it. The New Republic had interdictors at their disposal and would be monitoring the main trade routes and the better-known smuggling routes for him. He was better off playing it safe.

Once the course was set and the  _ Razor Crest _ was racing through the mottled blue of hyperspace, Din brought up the contacts Cara had given him, and selected the one labeled Underhaven Port. The comm took a moment to go through, and another few minutes before someone answered, but finally a grizzled Rodian answered the call. She squinted at him. “You’re not Cara.”

“She lent me her stripes,” said Din. “Said you’d be friendly to a friend of hers after Reqarra V.”

The Rodian snorted. “Thought she’d forgotten what I’d said about Reqarra V. She knows I was drunk, right?”

Din remembered what Cara had told him to say. “You made the bet when you were sober.”

The Rodian laughed. “She must really like you, Mando. All right, I’m game. If you’re calling in her favor, it’s yours. Once you drop out of hyperspace you need to immediately rescramble your ship’s comm and then call Underhaven again. I’ll have the computers autolock on your signal and you can be guided in right under the New Republic’s shiny nose. Sound good?”

Din scowled. “It’s never that easy.”

“It is when you’re with Black Sun,” the Rodian, her eyes glittering. “Those lawboys don’t cross us. Your entrance isn’t going to be noticed, and your ship won’t be either. You get caught outside my port, that’s your affair. Since it’s for Cara, I’ll give you the local rate on the hangar for three days. After that, you pay outsider price.”

“I shouldn’t be that long,” said Din. He hoped he wouldn’t be. Staying on Coruscant one second longer than he had to would be dangerous, especially once he got the kid.

“Then I’ll see you soon,” said the Rodian, and she cut the channel.

That taken care of, Din set to resetting his ship’s license signal. He’d been running in the underworld circles enough he had several on hand, but this job called for one completely new. It’d been a while and he’d have to make one from scratch.

He told himself that making the ship’s new broadcast name be  _ Froghopper _ was only because it sounded very un-Mandalorian and wouldn’t raise flags when someone scanned the name.

-

Jacen and Jaina turned out to be capable of the thing Luke, Han, and Leia had all failed at: calming the baby.

The Force ball game lasted a while. The baby slowly stopped whimpering and hiccuping and when the ball flew the wrong way and got Han in the face, he even laughed, a sound so delightful they all laughed with it. Jaina and Jacen ran to their father to apologize and make sure he was all right, leaving the baby to stare after them.

Luke held his breath, but the baby only whined instead of throwing a full tantrum, and Jacen and Jaina immediately ran over to him. “Can we show him around, Mommy?” asked Jacen, taking the baby’s hand.

“Of course,” said Leia.

Jaina took the baby’s other hand and the twins led him around the apartment, happily telling him about anything and everything they could see. Han and Leia followed, adding commentary and monitoring the children, and Luke found himself trailing along behind.

The way the little ears waggled with movement made his thoughts wander back to the swampy planet of Dagobah and the Jedi Master who’d once lived there. What would Yoda have made of this miniature version of him? More importantly, what would he advise Luke to do about the baby? Luke had scraps of records he’d recovered from archives on Coruscant’s numerous old Jedi temples and strongholds, but they were nothing compared to the reality of training or raising Force-sensitive children like the trio currently running through the apartment. And if Luke was being truly honest with himself, he was… disappointed that the child didn’t seem to like him much. He’d hoped the Force would be enough to overcome the barriers between them. He would have to try harder.

_ Do or do not, there is no try. _ Luke smiled to himself.

Jacen and Jaina quickly proved themselves masters at handling the baby. They distracted him with numerous toys and he even started responding to their conversations with coos and chirrups. He was easily upset but easily redirected, at least when Jacen and Jaina did it. They even got him in the kitchen and he willingly sat down and gulped down three bowls of broth so quickly Luke was afraid he’d choke. Afterward he was moving slower, eyes drooping, and while he had objected every time the adults got too close, he finally let Luke pick him up and hold him.

“I think he’s not scared anymore, Uncle Luke,” said Jaina earnestly, looking up at him.

“Can we play with him tomorrow too?” asked Jacen.

“Your mom and dad said we could stay for a while, so yes,” said Luke. “Thanks for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

The twins beamed at him. Luke glanced up to see Han murmuring in Leia’s ear; he caught something about being ready for a younger sibling.

“I’m going to take him in the guest room and see if he’ll go down for a nap,” said Luke. The baby looked exhausted, and surely had to be worn out from all the traveling and tantruming.

“Good night, baby,” said Jaina.

“He needs good night kisses,” said Jacen seriously.

Luke knelt and the baby made confused “Eh?” noises as each twin planted a kiss on his head. He reached out, the little fingers touching Jacen’s cheek and Jaina’s hair, but he didn’t object as the twins said their good nights and skipped back over to their parents. Luke carried him back to the guest room as gently as possible, relieved to see the big dark eyes slowly inching closed. Carefully, he laid the baby down in the crib.

"Aahh!" squawked the baby, sitting up and blinking rapidly.

"You look tired. Good night," said Luke, gently laying the baby back down. The baby still looked unconvinced, so Luke pulled a blanket over him and tucked him in, gently stroking one long ear. "Good night, little one."

The baby chirred grumpily and started burrowing deeper into the crib, wedging himself under the blanket and mattress pad until he was pressed against the hard plastiform side. He pressed his face against it and made a satisfied sound.

"Isn't that uncomfortable?" asked Luke, frowning. He tried to pry the child back out but only earned a shriek of protest, so he decided to leave him. He wondered if the child was so used to discomfort that even a soft bed was too strange to let him relax.

No matter the reason, the hard plastiform of the crib was successful in getting the baby to sleep, as soon soft little snores were filling the room. Luke couldn’t help but smile at the sound. He was glad the poor child could finally rest somewhere safe.

-

Din grunted in frustration as he bent over his work, trying to keep his stitches even in the dim light as he worked on fashioning his  _ kama _ out of the shawl. The leg plates were as shiny and eye-catching as the rest of his armor, and he needed them covered without hindering access to the small armory he was planning to attach to his belt.

Progress was faster now that he’d taken off his helmet. It had been twenty frustrating minutes of not being able to see the needle or thread very well until he remembered he was alone on the ship and there was no curious child constantly shadowing him to make taking off his helmet a tricky prospect. That thought had driven him to spend ten minutes rearranging the crate again before he settled back down to work on the  _ kama, _ removing his helmet and setting it by his side so that he could better see his handiwork in the ship’s dim lighting.

He managed to stitch the  _ kama _ together and tried it on, ensuring it would fit. It did but was still too long. As much as he was used to the cloak, the  _ kama _ was a different matter and he wasn’t about to risk it throwing him off. He’d have to hem and trim it a little further.

Din’s aching fingers protested doing anymore sewing at the moment, so he wandered back up to the cockpit and checked his course. Two more jumps until he reached Coruscant, and likely a few more days. His throat tightened. Cara had sworn up and down, multiple times, that this Luke Skywalker would not harm his kid. He had to trust her on that.

The worry still gnawed on his mind, and even though it’d been well over thirty hours since he’d last slept, he found himself pulling up the Holonet and searching “Luke Skywalker.”

There were plenty of search results - news bulletins and New Republic propaganda, advertisements for books, even an article about the outfit he’d worn to the last Senate meeting he’d attended with his sister. Din found himself looking at the sister, Leia Organa-Solo, as well. He’d promised Cara he wouldn’t hurt her, and now seeing that she was a prominent political figure decided he’d avoid even getting within a mile of her. He was already caught in way more with the New Republic than he ever wanted to be.

Luke Skywalker was a pretty fascinating person, Din had to admit an hour later when he was countless articles deep into researching the man. An ace pilot and bold warrior, a hero to the New Republic who’d toppled an entire Empire. No wonder Cara had said she’d want to see the two of them fight. If they’d met as allies, he would’ve loved to test his skills against the man.

As it were, he could only hope he could get his child back and escape before he had to.

-

Despite being a hologram and having half her face darkened with bruises, Admiral Narro was still able to convey a formidable air. “I fail to see why you need specific transcripts and video of the Mandalorian’s interrogation. My report was very complete.”

“It was,” said Luke in a mollifying tone. “And I’m grateful for you passing it along to me and my sister. But if this Mandalorian truly is coming after the child, I want to be prepared. Part of that process is trying to understand his motivations, preferably by observing the source.”

Narro’s eyebrow twitched and her hand raised into the hologram to brush away a stray lock of hair; the hand had a nasty-looking half-healed burn on it. “I’ve dealt with his kind many times, Master Skywalker. His motivation is credits.” Her lip curled. “Regardless of what Tolli may think. He’s still fresh-faced and bright-eyed. We know better what the galaxy is like.”

“Not from the perspective of this child,” said Luke evenly. “All I want is to understand what he’s been through and what he may face in the future. Surely you can sympathize with that.”

Narro’s face pinched, but finally she said, “I will send the necessary files through your sister’s office.”

“Thank you,” said Luke, and he cut the call.

He rubbed at his eyes. It was hours into the night; he’d spent a long time navigating the military’s bureaucracy to finally make contact with Narro personally. He wanted her and her men’s original account of the Mandalorian, whatever they had that would expose him to the man himself. Luke wasn’t convinced yet that Tolli was right about the Mandalorian caring about the baby, but he was convinced that the baby cared about his separation from the Mandalorian.

Luke got up from the desk, walking over to check on the baby. He was still sleeping, and hadn’t moved from where he'd wedged itself against the hard plastiform side of the crib. His head was up enough that his airways weren’t in danger of being cut off by the blanket or mattress. The last thing Luke wanted to do was anger the baby by waking him, but he’d had enough experience babysitting the twins to know he had to watch carefully to make sure the baby didn’t accidentally suffocate himself.

The twins had long since gone to bed, and so had Han and Leia. When he’d been told he’d have to wait to be called by back Narro’s people he’d joined them again for a while, but mostly he’d spent the evening keeping an eye on the sleeping child and wheedling various military folk for information. He’d have to ask Leia for help next time. Her name and influence always smoothed things along.

His eyes were itching with tiredness and he needed sleep. Tomorrow would no doubt bring a whole new host of challenges and it wasn’t Jacen or Jaina’s job to manage this baby, it was his.

Carefully, Luke pulled the baby out of his nest. He stirred and whimpered in protest and Luke held his breath, but the baby didn’t wake. Luke lay him down on top of the mattress; he shifted until his face pressed against the plastiform once more, then stilled and settled back into sleep.

Luke let out his breath and allowed himself a little pride at successfully moving the sleeping child.  _ Do or do not, there is no try, _ he reminded himself as he clambered into the bed to catch some sleep of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kama = Mando'a for "belt-spat"
> 
> It was pointed out to me on Tumblr that Anakin Solo should be around. Truthfully I forgot he was so close in age to Jacen and Jaina and was thinking he was a few years behind when really he's only a year and a half younger. Let's just say in this particular mashup of Legends/Disney canon he takes a bit longer to show up.
> 
> Reminder if you want to find me on Tumblr you can [here](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Baby Yoda's opinions of his new "friends" so far:  
> Jacen & Jaina: Like Winta and the other children on Sorgan. Nice and fun, new friends to play with!  
> Leia: Will make me do what I'm told, DO NOT ENGAGE  
> Han: Not My Dad but is A Dad, potentially okay to interact with  
> Luke: Said he was taking me home and he DID NOT he is a LIAR and FUCK HIM ENTIRELY


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke finds himself in an unexpected Force fight. From the mouths of babes comes wisdom. Din arrives on Coruscant.

Luke was used to sleeping alone in quiet. Growing up, he’d had the sounds of the desert muffled by the homestead’s walls and rarely heard more than the occasional rumble of a sandcrawler or a bantha call. The years in the Rebellion had trained him to sleep lightly for practical reasons and because the noise of people, ships, droids, and computers was always poking at his brain. Even now, when he didn’t have to worry about impending Imperial attacks, he always had difficulty sleeping deeply on Coruscant because of the constant background noise of traffic.

So the click of claws against plastiform and a worried whimper woke him up immediately.

He could see the shape of the baby sitting up in the crib silhouetted against the window, the lights from the speeders outside still flickering behind the dimming panels. Luke watched, breath held, unsure if the baby would go back to sleep or if he was awake for good and needed tending to. He’d made the wrong call sometimes when he’d first started babysitting his niece and nephew and the results were never pretty. The last thing he wanted was to upset this baby.

The baby turned, looking around, large ears wobbling with the movement. He made a sleepy sound, and for a moment Luke thought he was about to lie back down. But then the baby stood up, and started to try climbing out of the crib.

“Hey!” Luke sprang up and the child stopped; when Luke flipped the bedside lamp on the child had an almost guilty expression. It shrank back from him.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” said Luke softly, blinking his eyes blearily. A glance at the chrono revealed he’d only gotten a few hours’ sleep and he sure felt like it, but that was no reason for a harsh tone. “I’m sorry, little one. Do you want out?”

The child  _ hmm _ ’d, and started trying to climb out again.

“Let me help you.” Luke picked the baby up; he grumbled but allowed it. He squirmed but didn’t immediately demand to be put down, so Luke held him, bouncing him gently in his arms. “What woke you up, little one?” he asked. “Are you hungry, or just done sleeping?”

The baby squinted at him in an almost irritable way before babbling a whole line of dialogue, waving a hand to emphasize his point.

“Oh,” said Luke. “That sounds impressive.”

The baby scowled at him. Apparently that had been the wrong response. Luke sighed, and the ears perked up, and the baby gave a tiny giggle.

“You like that sound?” Luke sighed again. The baby’s ears perked up further, and he reached up to pat Luke’s cheek, though when his hand touched soft skin he made an annoyed sound.

When it seemed like the baby wasn’t about to descend into another tantrum, Luke walked over to the bed and sat, settling the baby on his lap. He grunted but didn’t clamber off immediately, patting and exploring Luke’s knees for a moment before making a dissatisfied sound and shuffling onto the comforter instead.

“You can sit in my lap if you want,” said Luke. “I don’t mind.” Was the child just so unused to affection, to anyone wanting him close? The thought made his heart hurt. As long as he could remember he’d always had Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, and after their loss he’d had Ben and Leia and Han, Chewbacca and Lando and Wedge; he’d never been bereft of loved ones. He’d always sensed love around him, even before he knew what the Force was.

Maybe that was how he could get through the child. Not through words, but the Force.

Tentatively, he reached out for the child, both with a hand and with the Force. The child stared curiously at his hand; it was the last thing Luke saw before closing his eyes, concentrating on the presence in front of him. It burned like a miniature star - life and strength in the Force, but contained close within itself. He was more certain of it now; the child was keeping his presence close in the Force, unwilling to connect with other living beings, or at least the ones here.

_ Safe, _ Luke sent him the feeling in the Force. _ You are safe. I won’t hurt you. _

He didn’t open his eyes but he felt the child’s presence in the Force respond;  _ curiousquestiondon’tbelieve. _

Luke reached out again, sending out the same feelings.  _ Safe. Home. Safe. _

The child returned with feelings of his own. _ Wantwantwanthome. _

_ You are home. You are safe. _ Luke tried to convey feelings from his own memories; sleepy breakfasts with his aunt and uncle, hugging his sister and brother-in-law, the laughter of the twins, the close quarters and camaraderie of life on the  _ Falcon _ . _ Home. Home. Home. _

_ Warmhappycomfortsafehome _ the child returned, and suddenly Luke was overwhelmed with the child’s feelings. He could see a rumpled blue blanket and shiny ball and could feel the sensation of warm arms holding him, a heart beating close to his, a voice murmuring quiet assurances, metal gleaming silver cool and comforting under his hand. _ Warmhappycomfortsafehome homehomehome want home want home WANT HOME WANT HOME _

The connection snapped. Luke’s eyes flew open but the child was already off the bed and fleeing the room.

“Come back!” Luke whisper-shouted, trying not to wake anyone else as he pursued the child. The child was faster than he had any right to be and he was clever; he ducked under a side table of decorative Alderaanian figurines when Luke almost grabbed him and slipped from Luke’s fingers before circling his legs and running right through them, nearly knocking Luke off-balance. Luke pursued him into the living room, where the child ducked under the table and couches.

“It’s all right,” Luke told him softly. He got down on his stomach, peering under the couch to try and see the baby, just in time to spot him bolting for the door.

“No, no!” Luke said in his best imitation of Han’s upbeat parental voice. The child stopped and for a second Luke thought he’d succeeded in halting his escape attempt, but then the child raised his hand at the door, and Luke felt the Force move and respond to the command.

“No!” Luke said again, reaching out and holding the door in place. He strained with effort; the child was fighting him, trying to open the door, and was powerful enough to give Luke a run for his money. _ What is this child? _

Suddenly he stopped with an angry growl and turned to look at Luke.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t leave,” said Luke. “You are safe here, I promise. You -”

The child’s hand shot out, and Luke found himself pushed back by an invisible force.

He stumbled and barely managed to catch himself, straightening just in time to see the child trying the door again. “No!” said Luke, catching the door with the Force and holding it shut. The child strained against him, trembling with the effort, but finally let go.

Cautiously, Luke walked up to him, kneeling down to his level. The child was trembling, breath hitching, and even in the dim light Luke could see tears gleaming in his dark eyes.

“I don’t know what you’ve seen, and I know you have no reason to believe me,” said Luke softly. “But I promise,  _ no one _ here is going to hurt you. You are safe. This can be your home now.”

The child  _ screamed, _ and Luke felt the roar in the Force like he was standing next to a maglev train. The table and couches behind him moved several feet, scraping loudly across the floor, and the twins’ toybox flew over, its contents scattering.

Luke froze, staring, not knowing what to do. The child stared back, and despite the display of power, he looked so frightened and alone.

The second the baby wobbled Luke was already reaching down, catching him just as he toppled over, unconscious. Luke cradled him, drawing him close, clumsily trying to imitate the feeling of being held warm and safe the child had shared with him moments ago.

“Luke!” He turned to see Leia rushing out, sweeping her loose hair out of her face. “Luke, what happened?”

“Tantrum,” said Luke, showing her the baby. “He used the Force until he passed out from it.”

“Is he all right?” asked Leia, leaning down to check the baby.

“I think so,” said Luke. He couldn’t sense any harm, only that the baby was exhausted. “Just wore himself out, like Jacen and Jaina would when they first started using the Force purposefully.”

“Mommy?” called a pair of voices, as if summoned by their names. Luke looked over to see the twins in the hall, holding their father’s hands.

Leia hurried over to her children. “Everything’s all right, darlings.”

Han whistled, surveying the living room. “The kid did that?”

“Oh!” said Jaina, looking out at the destroyed room. She looked up at the sleeping baby with a serious expression. “That was naughty, baby.”

“This is gonna overload Threepio’s circuits,” declared Jacen.

“I’ll fix it,” said Luke, “don’t worry.”

“Uncle Luke, why did the baby do that?” asked Jaina. “I thought he knew we were nice now.”

Luke hesitated, rocking the baby to buy himself a moment to think. “Well, Jaina… he… he just really wants to go back to where he came from, I guess. He doesn’t understand yet that this is a better place for him.”

“Why’s it better, Uncle Luke?” asked Jaina. “Maybe he liked his old place.”

“Daddy said he was with mean people,” said Jacen.

“Maybe they weren’t all mean, if he wants to go back,” argued Jaina.

“It’s still real early, kids, how bout we go back to sleep,” said Han, interrupting the impending argument before it began.

“I wanna help Uncle Luke move things!” said Jacen.

“I’ve got this, but thank you, Jacen,” said Luke quickly.

Han herded the twins back to bed, but Leia stayed, holding out her arms. “I’ll hold him while you fix things,” she said.

“Wouldn’t hurt for you to practice,” said Luke teasingly, but he handed over the baby all the same. The baby was his responsibility, and this was his mess to clean.

“I have been practicing, with Jacen and Jaina,” said Leia. “I was so excited this little one liked Force ball, so I could have a break from playing it.”

Luke smiled to himself - as if Leia would miss an opportunity to spend time with her children. Carefully, he righted the table and returned the couches to their previous position with the Force. He walked over to the toy box, intending to pick that up manually; even if he could use the Force for such things, it felt wrong to use it for laziness.

“Leave it,” said Leia. She nodded at the sleeping baby in her arms. “He can pick it up tomorrow himself.”

“I don’t know if he’ll go for that,” said Luke.

“Jacen and Jaina had to do the same when they used the Force to make a mess,” said Leia. “It’s never too early to learn some responsibility. I’ll make sure the twins leave it for him.”

“All right,” said Luke. Leia sat on the couch, holding the baby, and Luke sat down next to her, watching her stroke a finger along one of the oversized ears.

“He’s so tiny,” said Leia. “I wish he felt safe here. I thought it’d be easier on you, but maybe it would’ve been easier if you just took him to stay with you and Artoo.”

“I don’t know,” said Luke. “He seems to really like the twins. And I don’t think I’d know what to do without you and Han.”

“But it might be overwhelming for him,” said Leia. “I’ve sensed it, that he doesn’t want to reach out in the Force. He stays closed in on himself.”

“I felt it too,” said Luke. “I was trying to make a connection, show him he’s safe, but all I got is that he wants to return to his home.”

“It’s possible the Mandalorian kidnapped him,” said Leia. “He may have had another home before he was caught by the bounty hunter. There have been more reports of Imperial remnants trying to regain a foothold.”

“I asked Admiral Narro for transcripts and video of the Mandalorian’s interrogation,” said Luke. “She’ll be sending it through your office. He had this child for a reason, and I want to know why.”

“Do you think Tolli was right? About the Mandalorian telling the truth about the child being his?” asked Leia.

“I’m not convinced yet,” said Luke. “But I do believe Tolli was right about the child being attached to the Mandalorian. And Jaina…” He turned his niece’s words over his mind. “What Jaina said. He wants to go back. I can’t say I know much about child psychology, but I don’t see why he’d be so intent on leaving here and wanting to go back if he wasn’t being treated right.”

Leia was looking at him intensely, then turned down to look at the baby, rocking him gently. “Luke…” She hesitated. “Luke, if that’s true, then the New Republic military just kidnapped a baby from his father.”

Luke swallowed. The weight of her words hung heavy in the early morning silence. He put a reassuring hand on her arm. “We can figure this out, Leia. We can find out the truth and make sure justice is done for this child.”

“Yes,” said Leia, that familiar determined expression Luke had seen a million times forming on her face. “If Narro hasn’t turned in the files yet, I’ll see to it she does immediately. The crew that transported the child is still here and can be interviewed. We can compare their accounts to security footage and check for bias.” She handed the baby over to Luke. “I’m already awake. I might as well get ready for the day and go in early.”

“Thank you, Leia,” said Luke softly before she walked away to shower and get dressed for work.

The baby was sleeping peacefully, completely opposite from the force of power and destruction he’d been minutes ago. Luke guessed he could probably put him back in the crib, maybe grab a few more hours of sleep himself before he woke.

But he remembered the feeling of arms holding the child close, how much the child had wanted that sensation. He didn’t know yet what the right thing to do for this child was. But for now, he could at least give him the simple comfort of being held.

-

The baby slept through the entire day. Han found the old playpen in the closet and managed to set it up in the living room despite Jacen and Jaina’s help. Luke held the baby until it was completely ready. If it was all he could do to help the baby feel better, he felt obligated to do it.

Jacen and Jaina took persuading to leave the baby alone; they were completely unfazed by his ability to destroy the living room and wanted to play with him more. Luke ended up helping them practice their telekinetic skills with the Force. They were delighted by the special attention, and if he was practicing how to teach the baby control, well, two womp rats with one stone. Despite twin three-year-olds loudly bouncing around the room, the baby slept peacefully. Luke checked on him frequently, but the occasional twitch of an ear or fingers was the only reaction he ever saw.

In the afternoon he helped Han put the twins down for a nap and then returned to the living room, checking on the baby. He yawned in his sleep, but otherwise didn’t stir.

“Still out?” asked Han. He held out a steaming mug that smelled of chocolate. “Think you’ve earned this. Thanks for occupying the twins. They love doing Force stuff with you.”

“You’re welcome,” said Luke, sipping at the mug. One of the best things about Leia having all the good connections was that she kept her place and his stocked with his favorite hot chocolate.

“How’s the new baby?” asked Han, leaning over the playpen.

“No change,” said Luke, sitting down on the couch.

Han plopped down next to him, sipping from his own mug, which smelled of strong caf. “You ever get in touch with that Admiral? Narra? Narro?”

“Leia’s collecting the files. That’s why she went in early,” said Luke.

They sat in silence for a moment, nursing their drinks, until Han elbowed him. “What’s on your mind? You’ve had your head in the clouds all day. The kid’ll be fine. Remember when Jaina tried to lift her bed and slept for the entire day?”

“It’s not just that,” said Luke, and he told Han about his exchange of feelings in the Force with the child, and what had set off the massive tantrum. “Now Leia and I are wondering… if this child wasn’t rescued, but kidnapped.”

Han shrugged. “It’s definitely a possibility.”

Luke couldn’t keep the look of surprise off his face and Han laughed. “Come on, kid. Surely you’ve run around the underworld enough to give the Mando the benefit of the doubt?”

“He’s a bounty hunter. And the kid was locked in his ship.”

Han spread his hands. “What was he supposed to do, hire a babysitter? If it’d been me with the twins and no one else, running from Jabba or Fett or…” He trailed off, taking a drink of caf before muttering, “It’s hard to find someone out there who won’t stab you in the back for credits. I was lucky enough to find Chewie.”

“Reminds me, any word from Chewie, Lando, and Artoo?” asked Luke. “Last I heard they were still on Balmorra.”

“Chewie said they’re still there,” confirmed Han, and he started updating Luke on how Lando’s latest business venture was going with Chewbacca and Artoo’s help, until a loud voice from down the hall said, “Daddy, Jacen had an accident!”

“I did not!” objected Jacen.

Han sighed. “Back on duty,” he said, and went to take care of the twins. Luke returned to savoring his hot chocolate, watching the speeders flit by outside, trying to find some inner calm.

He was so focused it took him a minute to notice the baby staring at him through the clear sides of the playpen.

“Did the Mandalorian teach you to sneak around like that?” asked Luke before he thought better of it. He braced himself for a tantrum, but the ears perked up at the word “Mandalorian,” and the baby cooed placidly at him.

“Did you have a nice nap?” Luke asked, setting down his hot chocolate and approaching the playpen. The baby stared up at him, considering him for a moment before reaching up a hand. Luke obligingly picked up the baby, who shifted but then settled in his arms. He looked around the room, babbling softly to himself.

“I fixed all the stuff you knocked over,” said Luke. “Well, most of it.” He carried the baby over to the overturned toybox. “We still need to clean this up.”

He set the baby down, and he stared at the mess of toys while Luke sat next to him. “We need to clean up,” said Luke. “We - well, you - made a mess and we’ve gotta fix it.” He picked up one at random, a Gamorrean figurine, and put it in the box. “See? Clean up.” The child only stared, and Luke picked up another toy and put it in the box, repeating, “Clean up.”

The child cooed at him, completely unconcerned. Luke sighed, and his ears perked up and he even giggled.

“Here, you try,” said Luke, placing a Nautolan doll in the child’s hands, having to fold the little fingers around the toy. The child stared down at it, then looked Luke straight in the eye and dropped it.

“Oh no,” said Luke, picking the doll up and pressing it back in the child’s hands. “You spilled all these toys. You’re helping clean them up.”

The child watched him, eyes flicking between him and the toy in his hands and the floor. Finally, he lifted the doll and dropped it in the toybox.

“Good job!” Luke reached out to give a high five out of habit, like he did with the twins, but stopped. What did this baby even like as a reward? But the child leaned forward and cautiously tapped his hand with his own, and the ears went up a little further.

Luke put another toy away, and this time the child copied him voluntarily. “There you go,” he said cheerfully, and before he knew it he and the child were in the midst of a race to toss everything back in the toybox.

They were almost done when suddenly the baby let out an earsplitting squeal and threw himself forward into the remaining toys. Luke watched, bemused, and when the baby didn’t get back up decided to chance moving him. He lifted him onto his lap and found the baby clutching one of the toys, a figurine almost as tall as he was.

“What’d you find?” asked Luke, trying to pull it out to look. The baby screeched and held it tighter.

“All right, don’t worry about it,” said Luke. He reached over to put a handful of interlockable blocks into the toybox while the baby sat contentedly on his lap, gnawing on the round head of the figurine and chattering happily to himself. Luke knew he should make the child keep cleaning until everything was put away, but they were almost done and he was more relieved than he cared to admit that the child was actually happy for a moment. He could sense it in the Force, still muted and self-contained, but right now the baby had found some comfort in his situation.

He had to admit he was curious what had caught the baby’s attention. “Can I see?” he asked. When the baby cooed at him around a mouthful of figurine and drool, Luke carefully turned the toy around in the baby’s hands and stared.

He recognized the toy; it was part of a Cultures of the Galaxy figure set Leia had bought for the twins last Life Day and he remembered watching them unwrap it excitedly. The t-visor and shape of the armor painted on the front of the figurine was unmistakable. Of course the kid had found the one Mandalorian toy in the entire apartment.

“We’ll figure it out, okay?” said Luke softly, reaching out to stroke one long ear. “I promise. I’ll do the right thing for you, whatever it is.”

“Aawahh babah  _ daah,” _ said the child emphatically.

“Yes, I think so too,” said Luke agreeably, and the baby finally gave him a small smile.

-

Din sat in the cockpit, watching the countdown until it was time to drop the ship out of hyperspace. He had to move fast as soon as he did. This time, when the starlines faded, Coruscant would be ahead.

He already had his armor hidden under the black poncho and the finished  _ kama _ . Some of the excess was now the scarf draped around his neck that could be easily pulled up to disguise the distinctive t-visor of his helmet. The rest had been stitched together around the foam strips he’d found earlier to make a little mattress to pad the kid’s crate. It sat in the back seat, the blankets folded and draped around the sides and the new frog toy tucked by the little pillow he’d made, ready for its owner’s return.

For at least the tenth time in the last hour, Din ran a mental inventory of everything he was bringing planetside. Two blasters this time, one on each hip, one set to kill and one to stun. Vibroknives concealed in each boot and another spare in one of the poncho’s pockets. Five stun grenades on his belt, along with his last few timer bombs. All of the remaining whistling birds nestled in his gauntlet. The flamethrower, fully fueled and ready. Electroshock prod hooked on the back of his belt. He wished he was taking the pulse rifle, but it was far too distinctive and stealth was too valuable a tool in his arsenal. He had the scope tucked away in a pocket next to a pair of slicer’s spikes and had retuned the audio filters in his helmet. Hopefully they would be enough even without the rifle.

The navicomputer beeped at him and he pulled the Razor Crest out of hyperspace. Immediately he rescrambled the ship’s comm and sent a call to Underhaven Port.

The glittering orb of Coruscant loomed ahead as seconds ticked by. He’d done as much research as he could during the trip here and he knew their defense network was extensive. Any second now they could lock on him, recognize his ship, and he could find himself surrounded by one of the many, many defense ships that orbited the New Republic’s capital.

The comm crackled, and he tensed, but a bored voice said, “Underhaven Port locking on to your signal. Stand by.”

A new path appeared on his navicomputer and the voice continued, “You are locked in. Follow designated guidelines exactly to guarantee you remain hidden from New Republic security. You will dock in Hangar 26-AV. Identification phrase: Reqarra V.”

“Acknowledged,” said Din, and the channel shut off.

Din followed the provided path exactly, the glimmering city-planet coming closer and closer in his viewport. He held his breath as patrols and trade ships passed in the distance, but none bothered him. The  _ Razor Crest _ was just one more little ship arriving in the hustle and bustle of the city.

He went in lower and lower, down into what looked like a canyon made of skyscrapers instead of rock walls, wide enough to accomodate ships the  _ Razor Crest _ ’s size but not much bigger. A small freighter swooped out of bay doors that suddenly opened further ahead, and he saw that the winking golden windows in the evening light were just window dressing, hiding hidden underworld hangars. He followed his designated path further into the canyon until it stopped, where one of those hangars opened for him, and he guided the  _ Razor Crest _ inside and landed.

He went through the landing procedure, finally pulling the shifter. His hand lingered on the familiar round ball at the end. He couldn’t help but remember another time he’d pulled the lever to a stop and left his ship with one singular purpose.

Din was successful that time and he’d be successful this time too. He’d made it to Coruscant, and one way or another, he was bringing his kid home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favorite chapters of the fic tbh. I loved writing Luke vs. Baby using the Force. Hope you like it too!
> 
> Baby Yoda's thoughts from this chapter:  
> "My plan to sneak out has failed, guess I have to hang out with this weird liar guy some more."  
> "You can't understand a word I'm saying, can you? My DAD did."  
> "No I don't want to stay with you, you are a lying liar who lies and also you're friends with the people who tased my dad!"  
> "What part of 'I want to go home to my dad' is unclear here???"  
> "Wait you can move stuff too?? No fair!!"  
> "THIS ISN'T MY HOME I WANT TO _GO_ HOME"  
> "Clean up? Pssh. I'm too adorable for this."  
> "Omg it's a tiny Dad. I'm keeping this, it looks just like Dad!"


	9. Dinner Guests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia invites a guest for dinner. Din has a drink.

Leia came home from the office earlier than usual, and to the surprise of everyone, she brought a guest.

“I am very honored, Master Skywalker and General Solo,” said Ensign Tolli, bobbing into half a bow before changing his mind and saluting them instead. “I couldn’t believe my ears when Senator Organa invited me to dinner! I am so very honored, sirs. And thank you so much, Senator.”

“We’re always happy to have a guest, especially one of the people who protects the New Republic we’ve worked so hard to build,” said Leia with a smile. “Please, make yourself at home.”

Tolli nodded eagerly but then his eyes landed on the playpen and his whole face lit up. “Green bean!” He immediately rushed over and although the baby shrank back at first, he was soon waving his newest toy in Tolli’s face and babbling happily.

“You didn’t say you were bringing home a dinner guest, sweetheart,” said Han, leaning in for a kiss.

Leia returned it before murmuring in a low voice, so only Han and Luke could hear her, “I thought he might be more forthcoming away from his unit. I interviewed Captain Niam and apparently he’s gotten some flak for his opinion on the Mandalorian.”

“Surprised you didn’t discuss it in committee,” said Han, drawing her close and kissing her cheek.

“Oh, don’t even start,” said Leia with a chuckle, leaning in to kiss her husband some more.

Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes over yet another one of their inside jokes and instead turned to their guest, who was happily talking to the baby. Luke was glad to see the baby was still babbling back. He’d been in a better mood since acquiring his new toy and he seemed to be comfortable with Tolli.

“Mommy! You’re home!” squealed two loud voices, and the twins barreled out of the hall and into their mother. Leia swept them up for hugs and kisses before turning them around and saying, “We have a guest tonight. Jacen, Jaina, this is Ensign Tolli.”

“Hello, Mr. Tolli,” chorused the twins as the Zabrak turned away from the baby to look at them instead.

“Nice to meet you,” said Tolli, kneeling down to the twins’ level. “Let me guess, you’re Jaina” - he pointed to Jacen - “and you’re Jacen,” he said as he switched to Jaina.

The twins giggled. “You’re silly!” said Jacen.

“Why are you visiting us?” asked Jaina. “Are you going to help take care of the baby?”

“Well, I helped bring the baby to your uncle, and your mother was kind enough to invite me to your house for dinner as a thank you for taking care of him,” said Tolli.

“Will you play with us?” asked Jacen.

“Of course!” said Tolli. He glanced over, and said, “If it’s okay with your parents.”

Han grinned. “They’ve got a lot of energy. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“If they’re anything like my nephews, I sure am,” said Tolli.

“Can the baby play with us too?” asked Jacen.

“Of course,” said Luke, and before he could move Tolli had taken the baby out and set him down. The twins clustered around him and Tolli knelt back down on their level and the four were happily chatting away.

Threepio brought out drinks, and although Tolli took one it remained untouched as he eagerly continued playing with the kids. Luke exchanged a look with Leia and they silently agreed to let him be right now. They needed him to get comfortable enough to talk freely, and Luke didn’t need the Force to see how genuinely happy he was to entertain Jacen and Jaina and play with the baby.

Tolli was good with the kids, and Luke found himself watching, trying to figure out what Tolli was doing that made him so endearing even to the “green bean,” as he called the baby. Was it his upbeat tone of voice? Constant smile? Willingness to do voice impressions? The sense of genuine cheerfulness he exuded in the Force? He had no idea. But regardless, the baby sat contentedly by his side, hugging his Mandalorian toy and cooing and babbling happily along with the conversation. The twins liked playing with Tolli too, and even complained when dinner was finally served.

The cook droid had made Alderaanian-style nerf stew; Leia had requested it so that the baby could eat with them. Luke ladled some broth into a little bowl for him and set a few small chunks of meat on a plate in front of him. He’d refused anything that wasn’t meat or meat-based broth so far, and had even thrown the fruit pieces Luke had tried to give him at the last meal.

Han opened a bottle of Corellian red for the adults at the table; Luke didn’t usually imbibe but it went very well with the meaty stew. Tolli noticeably relaxed and finally listened to Leia when she assured him that he didn’t need to add ma’am or sir to every sentence he spoke directed to them. He happily regaled them with tales of his sister’s two boys and a probably-censored version of a prank he and his fellow trainees had pulled on one of their trainers at the Rendili Military Academy. Jacen then derailed him into what seemed like an entire thesis on Rendili’s native wildlife, and Jaina had her turn asking about the shipyards, recognizing the planet’s name from one of her toy starship’s packaging. It wasn’t until dessert that the adults finally gained Tolli’s attention.

“Have you served in your unit long, Ensign?” asked Leia.

Tolli shook his head. “I only graduated a few months ago. This was my first big mission, to be honest. I’m really lucky, Captain Niam has really looked out for me and shown me the ropes.”

“So you haven’t worked with the Admiral long, either?” asked Leia, sipping at her wine.

“No, Senator,” said Tolli. “It’s an honor to be serving under her. She has quite the reputation. She’s hard on us but she’s harder on the bad guys.”

“She’s got a rep in the underworld, I can tell you that,” said Han.

Tolli was starting to look a bit uncomfortable so Leia got him talking about his unit members instead. If he had faced much flak for defending the Mandalorian, he didn’t mention it, and had only words of praise for his fellow soldiers.

The twins were getting bored and starting to flick glaze cake crumbs at each other, so Leia called Threepio to get them ready for bed.

“No! We want to play with Mr. Tolli!” said Jaina defiantly.

“And the baby!” added Jacen.

“You already had your turn,” said Leia. “Now Uncle Luke and I get to talk to him. Tell Ensign Tolli good night.”

The twins reluctantly obeyed, not without protest. Tolli gave them good night hugs when asked, and Han and Threepio took the twins off for bed. Leia led them back to the living room, chatting with Tolli along the way. Luke tried to pick up the baby to follow, but the baby growled at him and walked on his own, still hauling around the Mandalorian toy almost as big as he was despite how difficult it was to walk with it.

Once Tolli and Leia had sat on the couch together, Luke tried to put the baby in the playpen, but the baby plopped himself at Tolli’s feet and screeched when Luke tried to pick him up. Luke gave up, sitting across from Leia and Tolli, as the baby started chattering a quiet conversation with his toy, beaming at the painted T-visor when he wasn’t shoving it into his mouth.

“He seems pretty happy,” said Tolli after a few more pleasantries were exchanged. “He’s doing okay, right?” He looked up anxiously at Luke. “He’s happy here?”

Luke looked over at Leia, and when she didn’t speak he started the conversation. “Actually, Ensign… that’s kind of why we invited you over. He’s not been doing so well, actually.”

Tolli’s eyes went big as saucers and Luke held up a hand to stall his questions. “He’s healthy, don’t worry. He’ll eat and sleep, but he’s just not very happy here. Leia and I…” He paused, trying to think how to phrase the very delicate question. He didn’t want to lead Tolli with his own biases and suspicions. “Leia and I are wondering if you were right, and the Mandalorian really is his caretaker, and wasn’t just keeping him as a bounty.”

“Oh.” Tolli scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I don’t know, you know? I mean, he  _ is _ a bounty hunter. Niam told me some of the things the Admiral saw from the Mandos, and…” He shrugged. “They’re pretty nasty pieces of work.”

“I understand that Admiral Narro has had some negative past experiences with Mandalorians,” said Leia. “However, my concern as a Senator is that the law is upheld. There are procedures for a criminal who is arrested with their child present. They have certain rights as a parent. I want to be certain that the Admiral followed the law in this regard and did not let her personal biases get in the way of justice.”

Tolli’s eyes went wide again and Luke sensed the sudden influx of doubt. “You… you think the Admiral broke the law?”

“I saw the injustice of the Empire throughout my political career in the Imperial Senate,” said Leia evenly. “As a Senator for the New Republic, it is important to me that everyone who crosses our path is treated with fairness. Even criminals.”

Tolli was glancing between Luke and Leia and the baby nervously, and Luke could sense his panic. “We aren’t asking you to officially testify or anything major,” he said soothingly, trying to project calm. “We just want to know what happened on board. All we have are reports that clearly contain some bias.” He gestured at the baby. “All we want is what’s right for this little one. If he really is the Mandalorian’s child, the Mandalorian still has some parental rights and custody unless he is proven an unfit parent. He deserves a fair trial. And this child deserves a caretaker he feels safe with.”

“The Mandalorian did break into a prison ship,” said Tolli doubtfully. “And if he broke out, he probably killed a lot of people…”

“He didn’t,” said Leia. She produced a datapad from her jacket, bringing up a document and showing it to Tolli. “The only casualty was Officer Davan, who was killed by one of the others named Xi’an according to security footage. During the Mandalorian’s escape there were numerous injuries, some severe, but no deaths.”

“Oh,” said Tolli, visibly relieved. He blinked. “He could’ve, though. If those droids hadn’t ambushed him, and it’d been just us against him… I saw the security footage of him rampaging through the ship. He could’ve killed us all if he wanted.” The child cooed happily at his toy, drawing Tolli’s gaze. “He didn’t, though,” said Tolli softly.

“Ensign,” said Luke, getting Tolli’s attention, “will you please tell us what happened on that ship? Your own experience, your own words.”

The child cooed up at Tolli again, waving his toy.

“Sure,” said Tolli.

-

Din had locked down the ship and paid his dues to the Underhaven Port boss, the same Rodian from before. She was easygoing enough, but he could tell she wasn’t one to cross. He decided against trying her for information. His ship was in her port, so the less she knew, the better.

He couldn’t risk connecting to the Holonet here in the heart of New Republic space so he set out on foot to try and find transport. He had no doubt Luke Skywalker was nowhere near the underworld. His best bet would probably be near the Senate Tower; if Skywalker’s sister was a Senator, he would likely want to be close to family. From what research he’d done on the way there, the twins seemed fairly close.

Coruscant was supposed to be the glittering jewel of the Core Worlds, but Din was unimpressed by its underworld. It looked very much the same as any other city-planet or industrialized world he’d been on. Seedy shops promised dubious goods, spice dens and brothels coyly advertised themselves, and the perpetual dark caused by the skyscrapers above was only broken by garish holosigns. The kid probably would’ve liked the bright colors; he went after anything shiny. If he’d been here, though, Din sooner would’ve eaten his own pulse rifle than let the kid out and about. Coruscant might be more lawful than other planets, even in the underworld, but there was still a thriving black market that would love to snap up a novelty like the kid.

He wandered a bit, scoping the lay of the land, before finally choosing a large, bustling cantina to wander into. Patrons of all shapes, sizes, and species were wandering around enjoying drinks and illicit substances in between betting on various sports on holoscreens, most illegal in the Core Worlds. Din pretended to watch a pod race while looking around for potential contacts who might be willing to help him find a ride to the higher levels.

“Hey.” Someone whacked his shin, and he looked down at a grumpy-faced Ortolan. “You here, you place bet.”

“I don’t gamble,” said Din.

“No place bet, no here,” snapped the Ortolan.

“Maybe this man just wants a drink,” said a new voice. A Falleen woman sauntered up, hair falling like black silk from the high ponytail on her otherwise bare green skull, but it was the Black Sun insignia on her pauldron that caught Din’s eye. “That’s not a problem, is it?”

“No problem,” grunted the Ortolan, and he shuffled off.

Din eyed the Falleen woman. She was smirking at him in a way that made him grateful his helmet would filter out any pheromones she was trying to use. “Appreciate it,” he said, “though I don’t want a drink either.”

“I didn’t think so,” said the Falleen. “But let’s find a seat anyway. I’d love to talk to you.”

Her voice was light and casual and Din didn’t trust it at all, but he might as well see if she could offer him any information. He wasn’t eager to mess with Black Sun while his ship was docked in one of their hangars, either.

The woman led him to a booth sheltered from the neon lights and the haze of cig smoke in the air. A Twi’lek serving girl immediately asked what they wanted; the Falleen ordered two shots of something called a Blue Coruscant. “Popular drink around here,” she said. “Might as well taste the local cuisine while you’re here.”

“I’m not here on vacation,” said Din.

“A job, then?” asked the Falleen.

“Personal business,” said Din flatly. “I’m not for hire right now, if that’s what you’re after.”

“Don’t be hasty,” said the Falleen. “If you’re calling in favors to use Underhaven you’re clearly serious about whatever  _ personal business _ you’re after.” She said the words mockingly, and Din clamped down on the urge to use his flamethrower on her face. “Maybe we can help each other. I could use someone like you.”

The serving girl returned and set shot glasses of some neon blue concoction in front of them. The Falleen immediately drank hers in a single gulp, then grinned. “Why don’t you try it?”

Din silently pushed his glass over to her. She smirked and threw that one back too before eyeing him again. “You never said if you were interested in trading favors, hunter. What do you say? I could show you a few things.” She winked at him.

Din suppressed a sigh. “What’s the favor you need?” he asked.

“Got a package to deliver to the governmental district,” she said. “Could use some extra insurance. Then I could get you where you need to go.” She tapped her nails against the glass. “Or help you with whatever personal business you need.”

The governmental district. Skywalker’s sister was a Senator, and this was clearly more luck than he could’ve hoped for. “I’m headed where you are, actually.”

The Falleen’s eyebrows raised. “Really.”

“Meeting a… contact.” Din decided he couldn’t pass up this opportunity. “Get me to the governmental district and I’ll escort you to your dropoff location. Then we part ways.”

A lazy grin curved up on the Falleen’s face. “Deal.”

-

“So you heard him say he’d come after the baby?” asked Leia, leaning forward intently.

“He promised,” said Tolli.

“I assume he means it, if he broke out right after,” said Han, leaning back against the couch, though keeping one arm slung over Leia’s shoulders. He’d returned from bedtime duties in time to hear most of Tolli’s account.

“I watched those videos the Admiral sent me of his interrogation,” said Leia, holding up a datapad. “He never wavers from the claim the child is his.” Her eyes narrowed. “And the Admiral certainly never mentioned that he claims he rescued the child from Imperials, and was willing to face trial on Coruscant and give us intel on an Imperial remnant to get him back.”

“He what?” asked Tolli, starting. He looked down at the baby, who had ignored them all this entire time in favor of carrying on an in-depth conversation with his Mandalorian toy when he wasn’t gnawing on it. “The Imps want the baby?”

“That would make sense,” said Luke, frowning, watching the child. Right now he looked like just an adorable, innocent toddler, but Luke had seen firsthand what he was capable of. The remains of the Empire could make great use of that power, and a child young enough to mold into a weapon.

“It’s possible the Mandalorian was hired as protection then, not as a hunter,” said Leia.

“I don’t think so,” said Tolli. “Ma’am,” he added, face reddening as he realized he’d just backtalked Senator Organa. Han hid a smile behind his hand as Tolli continued. “He was fighting to get back to the Mandalorian. That doesn’t seem like just hired help or a bodyguard. I was a part-time aide in a preschool when finishing school and I saw it all the time - kids struggling with being away from their parents. Tantrums and everything; even though they liked school, separating was still hard for them.”

“He’s definitely attached,” said Luke, half to himself. “I can sense it.”

“The little tyke’s made it pretty obvious by now,” said Han. “But here, we can still test it out.” He took the datapad from Leia and brought up one of the videos, a grainy hologram of the Mandalorian and Narro appearing. “Hey kid, who’s that?”

The baby ignored Han, still engrossed in talking to his Mandalorian toy, so Han turned the sound on.  _ He's my kid. I rescued him from mercs, _ said the holographic Mandalorian.

The child’s ears flew up and he leapt to his feet, staring at the video. “Aah! Aah!” he whined, reaching up for the holo.

“Who is that?” asked Han cheerfully, scooping the child up onto his lap. The child didn’t protest at all, grabbing at the datapad and loudly babbling at the holographic Mandalorian. “You know who that is, don’t you? Yeah you do.”

“I believe we’re all convinced the child belongs to the Mandalorian,” said Leia. “The next step is getting in contact. The Admiral certainly did not make appropriate choices regarding the child and parental separation, so the Mandalorian has some rights there, but he was caught breaking into a New Republic prison ship and releasing -”

“Sweetheart, you know he’s not going to care about any of that, right?” said Han affectionately. “Or answer any sort of New Republic communication?”

“He can’t get on to Coruscant otherwise,” protested Tolli.

Han snorted. “Trust me, kid, he can. Just because the underworld here won’t have anything to do with me anymore doesn’t mean I don’t know how it works. There are ways for someone to get on this planet without us knowing.” He switched to a cutesier voice while playing with the baby’s hands. “Yes there are.”

The recording had finished, and the baby pulled away from Han to grab at the datapad, whining. “I know, I know,” said Han, bouncing the kid. “You and him got in a big mess. We’ll figure it out, get you back together.”

Luke glanced up at the chrono and started. It was that late already?

Tolli came to the same conclusion as soon as he saw where Luke was looking. “Oh my, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you up.”

“No, Ensign, you’ve been most helpful,” said Leia. She stood and everyone else followed, and she took Tolli’s hands in her own. “All we want is what’s best for this child. Thank you for helping us determine what that will be.”

“I’m glad to help,” said Tolli eagerly. “That’s why I joined the military, to help protect the people of the New Republic. I’m glad to do it!” He glanced over at the baby, still perched in Han’s arms, quieter now and eyelids drooping. “I know it doesn’t seem likely at all, but… I know I’m right. That Mandalorian is his caretaker, not just a babysitter or a hunter. It seemed so hard to believe, but I just knew it.”

“We’re all about trusting our feelings around here,” said Han with a dry laugh.

They all told Tolli good night and thank you several more times before he left, Han handing the baby over to Luke before walking Tolli downstairs to the taxi station. The baby protested sleepily, but settled as soon as Luke handed him his Mandalorian toy.

Leia was busy on the datapad again. “Hey,” said Luke softly. “You need sleep too, you know.”

“I know,” said Leia. “But this just got a lot more complicated. Han is right and the Mandalorian is going to assume any communication we extend is a trap, and I’m sure he can find his way on to Coruscant without being noticed, and of course he’s a criminal but he’s been unjustly treated so the courts would have a field day, and -”

“Tomorrow,” said Luke firmly. “We can figure it out tomorrow.”

“Daah,” muttered the baby sleepily.

“See? He agrees with me.”

“All right, Luke.” Leia tucked the datapad away and gave him a one-armed hug, careful of the baby. “Good night.”

Luke went back to his own room, laying the baby in his crib. He shuffled over enough to press himself against the plastiform side again but then settled, holding the Mandalorian toy tightly. Luke pulled a blanket over the sleeping child before climbing into his own bed. Leia was right, things had gotten a lot more complicated, and he’d need a good night’s sleep to face tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: AO3 is not emailing me for every comment for some reason? I try to be really good about replying, but if I don't, I promise I'm not ignoring you!
> 
> I know y'all are yelling at the characters a lot but can you blame Luke - who doesn't know Din like we do - for wanting to be completely sure the baby is going back to a caretaker who will protect and nurture him? But they've figured it out and now the next step is tracking down Din. Of course, they don't know how close he really is...
> 
> Baby Yoda's comments on this chapter:  
> "Oh hey! It's the nicest one out of the fuckers who tased my dad! Hi there, Horn Head."  
> "Fuck off, liar, I'm walking by myself!"  
> "At least I have you, Toy Version of Dad."  
> "OH MY GOD DAD IS ON THE PHONE DAD DAD COME PICK ME UP DAD DAAAAAAAAAAAD THESE PEOPLE ARE WEIRD COME GET MEEEEEE"


	10. On The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din searches for his child.

The Falleen turned out to be fairly chatty, and whether he wanted to or not Din quickly found out that her name was Darja and that while she was still fairly low on Black Sun’s ladder, she was ambitious and ready to climb it. She was also an able pickpocket; she paid for the drinks before they left by raiding someone else’s pocket. Din made a mental note to keep an eye on her fingers and his own belongings.

Darja knew the area well, turning corners and taking shortcuts through alleys until she’d led them to a train station. Din watched impatiently as three different trains stopped and moved on before Darja indicated they should board. The maglev train was dirty and graffitied and smelled faintly of body odor and paint even through his helmet’s filters, but he’d seen worse. If the kid were here he sure wouldn’t put him down, though. He put way too many things he shouldn’t in his mouth.

The train ride was over an hour long. Darja explained that the lower level trains were older models with less power and less upkeep than the ones on the upper levels, so the journeys from below always took longer.

“Sounds about right,” commented Din. Maybe things like that were the reason Cara had left the New Republic.

“They wouldn’t want to cross Black Sun territory anyway,” said Darja with a grin. As an afterthought, she tugged her neck scarf over her insignia.

They got off the train and took two more before they finally made it to the governmental district. Din could tell they were going to the higher levels by the people; they were better dressed and cleaner, their clothes more finely made. Some even looked at him and Darja askance for their shabbier outfits, but none bothered them. Din stood carefully so that his beskar and his weapons were completely concealed, keeping even his gauntlets hidden.

“You’re so stiff,” said Darja as they left the last train and wandered through the station. “Walk like a normal person, will you?”

“This is my normal walk,” grumbled Din, but he tried to walk more casually. The sunlight filtered through the buildings here and made his gauntlets glint when they caught the light, and he tucked his arms under the poncho.

The train station was massive but Darja knew where she was going, effortlessly weaving through the crowd. They made it on to a walkway and finally Din could see the sky again. The sun was high up, making the impeccably clean walkways and their droid tenders shine. The massive Senate building loomed ahead, the dome towering over the neighboring buildings.

Darja saw him looking. “Never seen it before, have you?”

“I’ve been on city planets before,” said Din, annoyed.

“Ah, but this is the crown jewel of the Republic,” sneered Darja.

Din ignored her, eyeing the building. Security had to be a nightmare there. Skywalker’s sister was a Senator - would they keep the kid there, for security purposes? That would make things extremely difficult.

No, he decided, his best bet was still Skywalker’s own residence. The New Republic had made a huge fuss over what a terrible parent he was surely being to his own kid; Skywalker would probably take the kid home to keep him there if he was supposed to be his kid’s new guardian. His throat hurt suddenly, but he swallowed the feeling away. He’d get his kid back. He was already close, now he just needed to keep going.

Darja had snarky commentary on other features and the other people on the walkway but Din only half-listened; she wasn’t saying anything useful and he needed to memorize the territory to move quickly later. Already some of the people were noticing his all-black getup that was very obviously designed to hide him, and although it was still less attention than he probably would’ve gotten with an entire suit of beskar, he did not want people remembering him once he’d gotten the kid and needed to escape.

“Hurry up, will you?” grumbled Darja, and he followed her down a shadowed side alley.

“You’re so distracted,” complained Darja as they continued down the narrow, uninhabited alley. “We might get ambushed, you know. Are you really worth the effort it takes to drag you around?”

Din didn’t dignify that with a reply.

“Your personal business getting you down?” simpered Darja. She turned around, walking backwards to face him, and reached out to put her hands on his shoulders, waggling her eyebrow ridges suggestively. “I could help cheer you up.”

“No thanks,” said Din, brushing her hands off him.

“Not your type? I got other things,” said Darja with a grin. She pulled a packet of tiny, thin red-and-yellow tubes out of an inner pocket of her jacket. “This is everyone’s type.”

So she was a deathstick dealer. That definitely explained why she wanted extra security running around this area. “Just get us to your dropoff before you get caught with that. If the police take you in, I’m not going to prison with you.”

“Do you do anything to relax?” huffed Darja, turning back around and leading them down another narrow alley.

Hell, he didn’t know anymore. It’d been months since he’d been at the covert, able to play a game of  _ cu’bikad _ with his  _ vode _ or blow off steam with a modified version of  _ meshgeroya _ in the tunnels. Every waking moment was keeping the kid alive, keeping him fed, keeping him  _ safe. _ Scrounging for jobs to pay for food and fuel, debating whether it was riskier to take the kid on a planet with him or leave him locked in the bunk, praying no one recognized him or the kid or his ship. He was lucky enough to get a full night’s sleep; sitting back and relaxing was out of the question.

Well, there were the times the kid wouldn’t settle down and sleep, so he’d download a holobook and read to him until those big eyes drooped shut and tiny little snores came out of his mouth. Or when Din had finished repairing the conservator and the kid had used his power to toss Din the spare parts, and to catch them when Din threw them back. Or that really long hyperspace jump where the kid had hidden in one of the smuggling compartments and given him a heart attack when he thought he’d left the kid on the last planet, and they’d ended up playing a game of hide and seek that had lasted a solid hour.

Suddenly he wanted the kid back so much his chest hurt. He wanted to feel his kid nestled in his arms, hear his little coos and chirps, watch his curious little toddle and the way his ears perked as he explored anything and everything. He needed him back.

Din hurried after Darja. He had no time for memories, no matter how happy; he had to get his kid.

-

Despite the late night, everyone in the Solo household was up early. Leia went into the Senate building to figure out what legal options she could use to reunite the baby with his Mandalorian parent along with her other endless duties, and the twins woke up their parents earlier than usual, demanding to know when Tolli was coming back. Even Luke was not spared; the baby got up and yowled at him until he let him out of his cradle, then toddled off without a backwards glance, dragging his Mandalorian toy.

“Good morning, baby!” said Jacen and Jaina, dancing around the baby. He cooed happily in response, giggling as the twins ran in circles around him.

“Hey, he has one of our toys,” said Jacen, frowning.

Luke opened his mouth but Han beat him to it. “The two of you have plenty and he has none. You can share. Now come have breakfast.”

Rounding up the twins and convincing them to sit down was enough of a challenge, but the baby was having absolutely none of Luke this morning. Multiple attempts to guide him to the table were rebuffed, and when Luke picked him up, he got whacked in the face with a plasticine Mandalorian for his trouble.

Han came to rescue him, catching the toy when it went at his face. “None of that,” he said sternly. “You hit with that, and it stays with me.”

The baby growled and gave Han a measuring look, but whatever he sensed he decided he’d better listen, and allowed Han to place him in the high chair at the table, although he refused everything Luke and Han tried to tempt him with the entire time Jacen and Jaina were eating.

“Someone’s used to getting his way,” said Han as the baby pushed away another spoonful of meat-based leftovers Threepio had gotten out of the conservator. “I’m so glad Jacen and Jaina were never this picky.”

“Maybe he doesn’t eat as often as a human child?” asked Luke doubtfully. He didn’t sense any particularly hungry or distressed feelings from the child, although the baby was once again keeping his feelings carefully reserved.

“Maybe. Either way he’s definitely not starving, or acting like someone used to hunger,” said Han. “When I was on the streets of Corellia, I’d see… well, let’s just say I don’t think the Mandalorian was starving this little guy.”

“Captain Niam said it seemed like he hadn’t been fed when they got him.”

“Might’ve been in between jobs. Leia showed me the interview and the Mandalorian seemed really unhappy about being roped into the one that got him on a New Republic prison ship. But if he had two mouths to feed, well, that’d explain why he took it anyway.” Seeing Luke’s doubtful expression, Han continued, “Look, kid, I’m sure farming on Tatooine wasn’t the easiest life… but you had stability and routine and two caretakers to look after you. Making a career in the underworld? Lots more uncertainty, trust me. One day you make a big payout, the next you spend it all on ship repairs or buying off a bounty hunter or paying your debts.” He shook his head. “Like I said, I can’t imagine doing it with the twins, even with Chewie. On my own? It’d be hard.”

The baby was watching them intently, ears perked up, as if he knew they were discussing him and his parent. Luke reached out, trying to connect with the child again through the Force, but the child only rebuffed the advance.  _ Notyougoaway. _

Reluctantly, Luke obliged. “I’d like to review those videos and transcripts from Admiral Narro more closely,” he said to Han. “Can you watch him for me?”

“Course I can,” said Han with a grin. “We’ll have fun, won’t we, kiddo?”

The baby looked unconvinced, but when Han lifted him out of the high chair he squealed happily and quickly toddled off after the twins, dragging his toy and cooing animatedly as they invited him to build a starport-slash-zoo for all their figurines with them.

Luke retreated to his room, leaving the noise and laughter behind. He was resolved that he would reexamine all the reports on what had happened on the prison ship with a clear and open mind, searching for any detail that might have eluded him. The child had made it very clear that he did not want a new caretaker; he was perfectly happy with his old one. Luke would just have to try and find a way to make it happen.

_ Do or do not, there is no try. _ He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he sat at his computer.

-

Given how everything else in his life had been going lately, Din fully expected Darja’s job to go completely sideways, or worse be a setup of some sort that would end in his arrest and yet another turn in a karking jail cell. But surprisingly, the entire thing went smoothly.

Darja’s client was a decidedly respectable-looking and decidedly portly Pandoran who had brought some muscle of his own. Din was perfectly content to engage in a silent stare-off with the bulky Weequay while Darja collected credits from her client and handed over the deathsticks. He half-expected a firefight from the way the Weequay was bristling, but he’d seen the type before. The Pantoran had hired for bluster, not skill, unlike Darja. He’d win easily.

Luckily he didn’t have to find out if he was right. Once the Pantoran had his deathsticks, he rushed off in unseemly haste, the Weequay trailing after.

Darja snorted. “Told him he’d take the price hike and like it.” She twirled around to face Din. “All right, your turn, gloomyboots. Where to?”

“The deal was you get me to the governmental district,” said Din shortly, his hand automatically going to his blaster.

Darja snorted. “You scared my client so much he paid double what those ’sticks were worth, and your ‘personal business’ is clearly eating you up, so I’m feeling nice. Tell me where you need to go and I’ll get you there.”

Din hesitated, weighing his options. He wasn’t an idiot; Darja was Black Sun and definitely the type to turn on him the second she got a better offer. But her offer was beyond anything he could’ve hoped for. No need to go off blindly into the district, to try and search out Skywalker’s home on his own. The district was massive and finding the kid would be like searching out a needle in the sands of Tatooine. He’d probably need a local guide of some sort anyway… 

He remembered the kid’s cries as he was taken away, and suddenly he was speaking before he’d finished going through his thoughts. “Luke Skywalker’s personal residence.”

Darja’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Meeting a contact, huh?”

“In a manner of speaking,” said Din.

Darja was clearly dying to demand details, but must’ve figured - correctly - that he’d simply leave her offer if she got nosy. “Black Sun database should have that info,” she said, pulling out a datapad. Din waited with her in the shadows of the alley, hand still close to his blaster, watching Darja and the people passing by the alley’s distant end.

“Come on,” said Darja finally. “I’ll take you.”

“Just give me the coordinates,” said Din.

“You wanna get there without being noticed, right?” said Darja, raising an eyebrow. “Come on. I’ll save you some wandering; the walkways get twisty around here.”

The memory of the kid’s frightened eyes as he was being led away by the Imps flashed through Din’s mind, and before he knew it he was nodding and following after the Falleen.

Darja clearly knew the area well; they crossed bridges and ducked through back walkways and hurried across thoroughfares. The area was busy enough no one paid them much mind, despite their distinctly shabbier dress than the other locals, and Darja kept them out of the main walkways for most of it. They walked for at least an hour, maybe more, before crossing through a wide park, the grassy ground and numerous potted plants and trees a sharp contrast to the industrial look of most of the rest of the city.

Darja paused at a balcony, leaning casually on the railing, and Din copied her. “There,” said Darja in a low voice, pointing across the way. “That apartment building, the silvery one with the rounded top.”

“I see it,” said Din.

“I don’t know which one is his,” admitted Darja. “But it’s that building. The penthouse belongs to the Naboo government - guess they’ve had their Senators live there for years - but otherwise I can’t tell you exactly where he is.” She gestured to a lower section of the building. “That’s the public pad. You can find a taxi to take you there, probably, but from there you’re on your own. Lots of rich people there, high security. And Skywalker likes privacy from what I’ve heard.” She shrugged. “That’s all I know.”

“Thank you,” said Din.

She looked surprised, but then laughed. “You’re welcome. Enjoy your personal business.” She smirked before turning and walking away.

Din waited, keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t circle back to try and tail him, and then turned his attention to the apartment building. There were several speeders coming in and out of the public pad, enough he could probably use that as an entry point without raising suspicion, although there was doubtlessly surveillance to contend with. Hopefully it would just be droids. They were easier to deal with.

He used the zoom on his viewfinder to get a closer look, but unfortunately it didn’t reveal anything he hadn’t already figured out. He’d have to get closer. A glance up showed that it would be hours until darkness fell. He suppressed a sigh, and decided he might as well use the time to get used to the territory. Once he had the kid he’d need to move fast, and he needed to know his way around to do so.

Din stared at the building one last time, memorizing every detail. His kid was in there somewhere, and he was finally coming to get him.

-

The wait for dusk was agonizing. Din stalked his way around the apartment building a dozen times, memorizing every possible way to and from it. He found multiple vantage points where he tried using the zoom on his viewfinder again, and even his scope, but none got him close enough to really start peering in windows. Wandering on lower walkways led him to what seemed to be a workers’ door and a possible entry and exit point; he liked the idea of that far better than using the taxi system once he found out it was completely manned by droids.

The biggest obstacle was not knowing which apartment was Skywalker’s. Only the top had been eliminated, and there were still dozens of floors of possibilities. Even accounting for the fact that these were large luxury apartments, that was still far too many to safely search. One wrong move and the entire building would be turned against him. He needed to be able to look through windows. He didn’t know what a Jedi’s quarters would look like, but he had seen plenty of holos of Skywalker on the Holonet. All he needed was one glance, or even a family holoportrait on the wall. After that, it would just be a matter of subduing Skywalker, getting the kid, and getting out.

He paused on one of the walkways he’d mentally marked as the most useful. From here he could look up and see the taxi speeders coasting onto the public pad, their droid drivers glinting in the evening light. Below was the worker’s door, where a gaggle of beings shuffled forward, mops and carts in hand. Between their tools, their drab uniforms, and the fact they seemed to be aliens, they must be the cleaning crew.

Movement caught Din’s eye, and he looked to see a Duros in the uniform piloting a cart-like vehicle up to one of the windows. The Duros took out a vibrowiper and started cleaning off one of the windows.

Perfect.

His excessive scouting had already discovered the path down to the worker’s entrance, and he easily found his way there and walked silently up the ramp to the doorway behind two Twi’leks talking animatedly in Ryl. They swiped their access cards and Din swiftly slipped inside after them.

The maintenance building was simple enough, plain duracrete floors and walls and every door labeled. He passed the ’fresher and employee break room and several closets of supplies before he found one labeled “Window Maintenance”. Inside was a pair of the hovercarts he’d seen, a rack of vibrowipers, and several shelves of soap and other supplies. Din grabbed one of everything, loaded them into the hover cart that looked in better condition, and opened the doorway to outside.

The hovercart was equipped with safety lights but he override them when they turned on. There was a little light left from the setting sun, and he wanted to be inconspicuous to anyone flying by. He tucked a vibrowiper into the crook of his elbow to keep up appearances, letting the hand hover by his blaster while he used the other to drive. While he doubted the rich residents would pay any mind to a maintenance worker, there might be an overseer below who would notice the missing cart and decide to track him down.

He also didn’t know what Skywalker was capable of. The kid was young and untrained and still capable of causing plenty of mayhem. A grown, adult Jedi able to use his powers in combat? His hand inched closer to his blaster.

Din’s research on the Holonet and what Cara had told him made it clear that Skywalker was quite the eminent figure, and since his sister was a Senator, Din had no doubt the Jedi had plenty of credits. The higher apartments were the richer ones; Cara had explained that on Coruscant, social climbing meant moving up literally as much as figuratively.

Carefully, Din sent the hovercart at a leisurely pace up alongside the building, focusing on looking inside the windows. He tuned up his viewfinder as much as he could, trying to pick out any details that could offer a clue. It was risky to leave his back so exposed, but he had to trust in his disguise, and that he’d hear if a rogue speeder or projectile came hurtling towards him.

Not all the apartments were full but the ones that were indicated high-profile clientele. A Firrerreo woman in elaborate robes hurried forward to embrace her equally well-dressed wife and children. A few floors up a group of Bimms exchanged elaborate appetizers and expensive-looking drinks, and above them a human man lounged among a half-dozen Twi’lek women. Even the empty ones had plush furniture and elegant wall decorations. Not enough people had any sort of holos around, and belatedly he wondered if it was customary on Coruscant - a city-planet that surely had a thousand eyes peering around at all times, especially in the governmental district - to keep personal items away from windows, just in case.

Finally, though, he came to an apartment that actually appeared somewhat modest. The simplicity was a sharp contrast to most of the others, and Din stopped his cart to get a closer look. It was dark inside except for a few automatic lights still blinking, enough to illuminate a simple living area. Din craned his head and zoomed in his viewfinder, trying to see, and spotted another faint flicker of blue light to the side. He zoomed in further, and suddenly he recognized the holographic face of Luke Skywalker, smiling as the man held two small children in his arms. He’d found the right apartment.

Quickly, he piloted his hovercart sideways. There was a private landing pad nearby, he was pretty sure, and after a moment he found it. He directed the cart all the way on to the pad and shut it down, stepping off to face the closed doorway and the keypad blinking obnoxiously at him.

He really wanted to blow it up. He  _ really _ wanted to. But, he reasoned, he couldn’t risk it if the kid was close by behind the door, and giving up the element of surprise would be stupid too.

Din pulled out one of the slicer’s spikes and inserted it into the port. The port seemed well-worn, like a droid had used it frequently; he’d have to watch out in case Skywalker had one of the things lurking around. The spike worked for a minute, clearly having to bypass no small amount of security, but finally it clicked and the door slid open. Din already had his blaster out and he retrieved the spike before cautiously stepping forward.

The apartment was dark and quiet; the viewscreen in his helmet automatically compensated for the low light. He hurried inside as silently as he could, blaster raised, ready for anything. The entryway was lightly furnished, a social area with couches and a few pieces of understated art from cultures he didn’t recognize. The only light was from the plethora of holos on the walls, flickering animation showing Skywalker with people he recognized as Senator Organa and her husband, the two small children again, and many others - people in pilot uniforms, Rebellion officers, a Wookiee, even droids.

He went further in, finding himself in a wide hallway with multiple doors. He went in each and every room, blaster raised, surveying what was inside. A bedroom, a ’fresher, some sort of mechanical workroom, a kitchen, the living area he’d seen from the window, all with the same understated modest furnishing and quiet simplicity that contrasted sharply with the panic rising in Din’s chest. No one was in any of the rooms, not Skywalker, not any droids, not the kid. Everything was neatly packed away, all electronics in standby, the parts in the workroom lined up on their shelves and the workbench empty of projects. No one was here.

“No, no, no,” said Din aloud. He didn’t mean to, but it was like a dam broke in his throat and he threw caution to the wind. “Kid! Kid, are you here?!” He ran in and out of every room again, a third time, a fourth. “Kid! Kid, answer me! Where are you?!” He opened the closet and rifled through cabinets and pulled open every drawer and even searched under the bed, trying to deny the dawning realization: the kid wasn’t here.

“Kid!” he shouted into the empty dark of Skywalker’s bedroom. “Kid, where  _ are _ you…?”

Suddenly exhausted, he slumped down onto the bed. Bitterly, he realized he’d made a rookie mistake in being so certain Skywalker’s apartment would be his final destination and not just a stop on the journey. He’d never gotten any indication Skywalker had the kid here, only his own assumptions. The kid could be held in some sort of high-security facility anywhere on the planet, or maybe Skywalker had some secret Jedi hideout to squirrel the kid away in. All he’d heard for certain was the kid was going to Skywalker on Coruscant, and making assumptions had come around to bite him in the ass. He’d been so intent on locating Skywalker’s apartment he hadn’t even taken the time to gather any other intel. The kid could be  _ anywhere  _ on this massive city-planet.

He stared down at his hands. They felt so empty. All he wanted was to hold his kid. He’d give him the damn shifter knob all day as long as he could just hold him again.

The flickering light of a holo on the desk brought him back to his senses. Skywalker’s beaming face smirked at him in between Senator Organa and her husband, the three of them smiling and laughing in a disgustingly cheerful way.

Din blew out a breath. Skywalker had to be somewhere. He could find him. And right in front of him, next to the holo, was what was likely Skywalker’s personal computer.

He only had one slicer’s spike left. They weren’t cheap, and no doubt the prices were jacked even higher here in the Core, but he used it anyway. He’d never been one for slicing; if he had a problem with a computer that couldn’t be solved by simply shooting it, he was out of his league. Fortunately the spike was up to the task of slicing Skywalker’s computer, and Din found himself with complete access.

Vaguely, the thought that Skywalker probably had more info on the kid’s magic powers buried in the computer passed through his brain, but finding the kid was vastly more important and he wasn’t interested in lingering here long. He went straight to Skywalker’s transmissions.

He had to sort through several messages from others, mostly Senator Organa and some droid designated R2-D2, before he finally found one from Admiral Tessal Narro and brought it up.

_ The package is safely en route to your location. Estimated arrival in two days. Communicate directly with Captain Niam for further updates if necessary. _

Skywalker had replied,  _ Thank you Admiral. Please feel free to contact me if there are any further developments, either personally or through my sister’s office. _

Din sorted through the other transmissions from Narro and the New Republic military but they were all similarly dry and devoid of relevant information, and the way Narro described his kid as being  _ kidnapped and likely abused by the Mandalorian _ itched under his skin. Wherever Skywalker had taken the kid, he hadn’t informed Narro.

Desperately he went back several days and started clicking through all of Skywalker’s messages. The damn droid kept sending him very chatty messages telling him about how he was keeping people named Lando and Chewbacca out of trouble on Balmorra, but Din read them all anyway in case Skywalker replied with any information, but got nothing. Messages from the aforementioned Chewbacca and Lando echoed similar stories about Balmorra. Han Solo sent holos of the same two children that appeared in holos around the apartment, building a block structure and running around a park and climbing all over Senator Organa. And Senator Organa herself and Skywalker talked frequently, long conversations about New Republic issues Din didn’t know or care about.

Until finally he found a message chain about the kid.

_ The child should be arriving soon. Is it all right if we meet them in your office? I think a secure location would be best, and if there’s any eyes we can move them from there. No one knows the area like Winter. Does she have any ideas? - Luke _

_ I was going to suggest the same thing. There’s a lot of private receiving rooms; I’ll ask Winter which one would be the most secure. Something by one of the secret emergency exits would be best. I’ll outline a plan with her tomorrow. _

_ Han is double-checking all the childproofing in our apartment and he’s gotten out one of the old cribs. I can’t believe how much baby stuff we still have packed away. Jacen and Jaina are so excited. Hopefully they can make friends with the baby and ease their transition. We’ll have everything ready by the time the child arrives and you can bring them straight here. - Leia _

Din stared at the word “childproofing” for a moment - what the hell did that mean? he’d have to look into it - before catching on the most relevant information. Skywalker had brought the kid to his sister’s. It made sense, if Organa had kids of her own. The kid had liked all the other children, especially Winta, back on Sorgan. He’d like having playmates again, Din knew, there just never were any around in the places they went, or any place safe enough to take him. And who’d let an armed and armored Mandalorian bounty hunter anywhere near their kids, anyway?

He shoved the thought away and quickly scanned through the remaining messages. There was no indication that Skywalker had moved again; in fact, there was a distinct lack of messages from Organa or Solo for the past few days when otherwise they spoke daily, so he must still be able to talk to them in person.

Poking around in Skywalker’s contacts easily netted him the information he needed on Senator Organa’s apartment. It was close to the Senate building, another luxury apartment complex doubtlessly with high security, but he’d managed this one and he could do another. He’d have to be extra careful since there appeared to be other children there, but with any luck he could scout the building, find a relatively stealthy way in, get the kid, get out, and slip back to his ship before Coruscant security could really get up in arms. He pulled up a Coruscant map and found Organa’s apartment building wasn’t very far. He should be able to reach it by dawn, spend the day scouting the area and formulating a plan, and then make his move at night when they would more likely be off-guard.

Satisfied that he wasn’t out of options anymore, Din shut off the computer and walked out of Skywalker’s room. The smart thing to do would be to go back and straighten everything, disguise the fact that he’d been here at all, but he’d already lingered long enough.

The petty satisfaction he felt at leaving a mess for the Jedi who’d taken his kid was completely irrelevant to the decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Artoo was one of those characters who I decided to put off-planet to avoid giving myself too many characters to manage, but can you imagine Din "I Hate Droids" Djarin vs. Artoo "I Run With And Encourage The Skywalkers" Detoo? Can you even picture what THAT showdown would be like?? 
> 
> So it's not relevant to the story but my idea was that Luke is living in the same apartment building that Padme did in AotC/RotS. He visited it and found it not necessarily to his taste, but there was something about it that just seemed familiar - sensing his mother's presence in the Force, even though he didn't know that's what it was - so he decided to live there.
> 
> Mando'a in the chapter:  
> Cu'bikad = Mandalorian game involving stabbing knives into a checkered board; a cross between darts, chess, and ludo  
> Meshgeroya = Bolo-ball


	11. A Sight For Sore Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din has his eyes on the prize.

Din returned the hovercart, or at least sort of did, parking it at an out-of-the-way walkway and abandoning it after smashing the controls enough to scramble it. He didn’t want to make blaster noise and draw attention to himself, and smashing it should be enough to make anyone who didn’t look too close think that some dumb kid had stolen the thing for a joyride.

He took his time finding his way to Organa’s apartment building. Exhaustion was pulling at his eyes and starting to win against the knowledge that his kid was  _ so close _ and he was almost about to get him back. But he forced himself to be practical. He didn’t want to make a move until nighttime anyway, and he could find himself in the same situation as before, where Organa’s apartment was just another step in the process of tracking the kid.

He got lucky and spotted a back-alley dumpster being unloaded. Once the garbage droid had finished its work, he snuck inside and was able to gulp down a ration bar and grab a few hours’ sleep undisturbed. It was enough to keep going on, though restless dreams of chasing after something small and fast kept plaguing him. By dawn he was on the move again.

Coruscant was never devoid of people on its walkways but at least no one paid him much mind; this early in the morning he was just another grunt on his way to work. The journey took longer than he would’ve liked - he kept having to backtrack on top of the slower pace he kept to avoid looking suspicious or tiring himself out - but after a few hours he finally he’d found Organa’s apartment building.

The silver tower was similar to Skywalker’s, gleaming in the late morning sun like polished beskar. There were private landing pads on this one as well, but a look around showed that the public one was heavily manned by uniformed guards. There was an elaborate entrance and large foyer nearby, also well-staffed. The few people strolling in and out looked plenty wealthy and important, probably politicians and socialites and celebrities. Skywalker’s complex had been for the wealthy too, but this one was clearly intended for prominent individuals. The sight of a bright yellow maintenance droid washing windows confirmed that Din would not be able to pull off the same trick twice.

He set to scouting the area and found an extensive shopping complex across from the apartment building. He forced himself to meander between levels at a leisurely pace, pretending to be yet another shopper idly taking in the floors of restaurants and shops that catered to an entire galaxy of species. Finally he ended up on the rooftop, where a park was occupied by pedestrians walking the paths and parents letting their kids loose on the play structure. He watched them for a moment - the structure was way too big for the kid, but he’d love the sandbox and probably wouldn’t be able to hurt himself in it - before catching himself and wandering to where he could see the apartment complex, leaning on the edge like a tourist taking in the view.

The building seemed similar in structure to Skywalker’s and shouldn’t be hard to navigate. Din tuned up his viewfinder to see if he could pick up interior details but found he’d need his scope to really pick things out, given the glare of sunlight on the windows. That would definitely draw attention.

Din glanced around and set to another circuit of the park. Most people were clustered around the play structure, adults half-watching their offspring while checking their datapads or chatting on their comms. A green Nautolan no taller than Din’s waist fearlessly launched herself down the slide so hard Din almost winced, unwillingly remembering the time he caught the kid jumping down the entire length of the ladder from the cockpit. It was the first time he’d ever raised his voice at the kid, desperately demanding to know what he’d thought he was doing. He’d then spent at least five minutes trying to explain to the kid that the fall was way too dangerous for someone his size. It had been very difficult to stay on track when the kid just kept cooing nonchalantly at everything he said, big brown eyes perfectly innocent. He’d never seen the kid do it again, but the way the kid tended to inch toward the ladder when Din wasn’t close made Din watch him like a hawk-bat whenever they were up in the cockpit.

Din shook off thoughts of the kid and continued his circuit, wandering as far as he could from the play structure. There was a ’fresher building ahead, in the corner of the park, and he went inside. It was empty and he was able to pick the lock to the maintenance workers’ area, finding a large storage area and break room with a back door. He passed the snoring Duros slumped in one of the plastiform chairs and snuck out the back.

Finally something in this stupid chase was going right, because he found the little back alley behind the building contained nothing but permacrete and a dumpster and an even closer view of Organa’s apartment building. A quick climb up the dumpster and on to the sloped roof kept him hidden from the park patrons and anyone who came out into the area below, provided he lay flat on the roof. His poncho even matched the color of the roof tiles. Din settled himself onto his stomach, pulled out his scope, and started peering at the apartment building.

Remembering Cara’s words, he started at the top. The research he’d done on the way here indicated that Organa and her husband were very important figures, heroes of the Rebellion even before Organa became a prominent Senator. Even with the scope he wouldn’t be getting too close a look - like being able to use holos like he had for Skywalker - but someone had to be home with the children. Din doubted they’d be parading his kid out and about on Coruscant, at least.

He scanned each floor thoroughly, looking for any clue. The penthouse at the top had a cradle, but the woman walking through wasn’t Organa or even human. The next one only had a cleaning droid, and the floor below that a family of Twi’leks watching an enormous holoprojection of some kind of sporting event. The next several were empty, but Din scanned them closely nonetheless, hoping for any kind of clue. He went down the floors as far as he could see and got nothing, so he started at the top again.

He went even slower this time, trying to pick up every detail no matter how small. The first five floors were all the same, and he got nothing new. But the sixth one had movement behind the glare of the sun on the windows. He retuned the viewfinder again, adjusted the scope, focused on the sixth floor again, and could finally see. His breath stopped in his throat.

_ His kid. _

Din jammed the scope further into his helmet, trying to look as close as possible. He was sure his heart had stopped except he could still hear it thundering in his ears. He stared at the kid as he took his tiny toddling steps in front of the window, pressing a tiny little hand to the glass and staring out, his oversized ears perking up. He seemed unharmed and not upset. He even had what might be a toy of some sort tucked under his other arm.

Din would’ve given anything for a jetpack right then. He could fly right over, break the window, grab his kid, take him back to the ship, leave Coruscant, and never ever let the kid out of his sight or possibly his arms ever again.

He shook away the thought. He had a location and right now he needed to be observing the apartment as best he could, seeking out exit and entry points or possible cover in case of a firefight. Instead he kept the scope locked on his kid, watching every movement. The kid gummed on his toy, then suddenly the ears flew up. He seemed to look right at Din through the scope and waved.

Din was halfway through waving back before he remembered the kid couldn’t possibly see him from the distance. The kid did have an uncanny knack of knowing where he was on the ship at any given time - more than once Din had been halfway through a meal or a shave and had to slam his helmet on with food still in his mouth or soap on his face - so maybe it was another skill he had with his weird magic sorcery?

“I’m coming for you, kid,” whispered Din. “I’m almost there.” He felt stupid, talking to the air, but who knew if the kid could hear him through whatever magic powers he had? He wanted the kid to know he was on his way.

Din was about to finally start looking at the apartment instead when another figure came into view, a sandy-haired man dressed in black that Din immediately recognized as Luke Skywalker. His fingers dug into the metal of the scope as Skywalker knelt down and reached out for the kid, trying to pick him up. The kid scooted away, swiping a hand at Skywalker. Skywalker didn’t try again, though he sat beside the kid, who clearly wasn’t happy about it. Didn’t Skywalker know anything? Hadn’t he figured out the kid wanted to be left alone?

Two more people came into view, the young children Din had seen in Skywalker’s holos, a boy and girl with similar features and brown hair. The kid was fine with them, not walking away when one sat by him and the other plopped down in Skywalker’s lap. The kid pointed right at him and Din tensed, but the children were occupied by something else and if Skywalker could use Jedi magic to identify him, he didn’t give any indication.

Din watched them. The children were clearly comfortable with Skywalker, so at least it was unlikely his own kid had faced any mistreatment. The kid watched the twins play with Skywalker and eventually let himself be drawn into some sort of game involving tossing a ball - no, the other children were making it float just like his kid could do to things! Four people capable of Jedi magic were in the apartment? Did it run in families? Would he potentially have to clash with Skywalker’s sister too? His own kid had stopped a raging mudhorn - what were these two children capable of? He couldn’t fight children, not even for his own child…

The ball suddenly flew away and the children, including his own, ran off after it. Skywalker lingered a moment before rising and following them. Din waited a moment, hoping to see his kid again, but they didn’t return to the window and he forced himself to focus on memorizing what details he could see.

The most important thing was that he’d located his kid. Everything else, whatever plan he came up with, was just details. He finally had his kid in his sights, and he was going to bring him home tonight.

-

Luke left the computer after poring over the transcripts for at least an hour. He’d found that watching the videos did nothing but attract the baby, who babbled loudly at the recording of the Mandalorian as if his parent could hear him. Even though he couldn’t sense feelings through a video, Luke was certainly convinced the Mandalorian was the child’s caretaker by now. It didn’t take the Force to hear the desperation in the Mandalorian’s voice as he tried to negotiate his way back to his kid. Given Narro’s prejudices, Luke felt at least a little sympathy for the Mandalorian finally taking things into his own hands and breaking out. If it’d been him and someone had taken Jacen or Jaina, or threatened Leia or Han or Artoo or Chewie or any of his other friends… 

And the Mandalorian’s knowledge of Imperial remnants was certainly something he wanted, and knew Leia would too. Of course the Battle of Endor hadn’t been the end of the Empire, but in the years after the New Republic had finally ended the Empire’s existence… or so he’d thought. An Imperial remnant with resources and a plan of some sort involving Force-sensitive children? What if there were more in their clutches who hadn’t been rescued by Mandalorians? Even if they hadn’t acquired his kid, Luke would be trying to make contact just to get any information he could on that.

He glanced up at the baby, who had wandered over to the window. The Mandalorian toy was still tucked under his arm; he held onto it like it was a lifeline and preferred talking to it over anyone else in the apartment. It sat with him at the table and he would squawk at Jacen and Jaina if they knocked it over or moved it away from him, and Force help anyone who tried to take it from him. Luke had spent at least an hour fixing Threepio from the tumble backwards he’d taken from a Force push, and probably a total of three hours after that apologizing to and soothing the fussy protocol droid.

Luke finished up the notes he’d taken and closed the document before looking up at the baby again. Now he was pressed to the window, his toy dangling half-forgotten from his hands, and waving eagerly out at the city.

Curious to see what had caught the baby’s interest - unless Jacen and Jaina were playing with him, he usually preferred to talk to or gnaw on his Mandalorian figure - Luke walked over and knelt at his side, reaching out for him. “What do you see, little one?”

The baby grumbled and swiped a claw at him before pressing himself back to the window. Luke sat by his side, ignoring the grumbling. “Do you like the speeders? Or the buildings? They’re very shiny in the sun.” He considered reaching out in the Force again, but given how strongly the child reacted, he didn’t want to push it. Han had already commented that he did not want to buy new furniture.

“Did you see a cool speeder?!” asked Jaina, racing over and sitting by the baby as Jacen followed, claiming a spot in Luke’s lap. “I’ve been looking for the new Aratech but I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Aabaabadaah,” said the baby, pointing out at the skyline.

“I wanna play Force ball, Uncle Luke!” said Jacen, and before Luke could try and figure out what had caught the child’s interest Jacen had pulled a ball out of the toybox and into his hands with the Force.

It was always hard to say no to the twins’ enthusiasm and big brown eyes, and before he knew it Luke was tossing the ball back and forth with the twins, none of them actually touching it. He glanced over and saw the baby was watching them now, and when Jacen said “Here you go, baby,” and threw it to him, he joined in. Whatever had caught his eye outside was forgotten as he and the twins played, and when Jaina threw the ball hard enough to send it flying towards the door, the baby followed the twins after it.

Luke went after them, watching the baby to see if he would try to break out again. He did stare at the door, ignoring Jacen and Jaina as they fought to reclaim the ball, but turned and walked away, chirring at his Mandalorian toy. Luke let out a sigh of relief. Besides not wanting a repeat of the last time the baby had tried to get out, he was afraid of what Jacen and Jaina might try if they realized they could use the Force to open the door.

Leia was still at work and Han left to get groceries, so Luke kept an eye on the children. Done with amusing themselves, Jacen and Jaina demanded he help them reassemble the massive starport-zoo-city in their room that was constantly being taken apart and remade. The baby sat back and watched at first, but Jaina coaxed him into joining them by tempting him with one of her toy ships, and once she and Jacen showed him how to make them “fly,” the baby was copying them and even imitating their engine noises. He was a comical sight, his Mandalorian toy perched on top of the ship that he had to balance on his head to carry, loudly growling like a particularly old and cranky engine.

The day passed quiet and peaceful, or at least as much as it could be with three young children in the house. Han came home and the twins wheedled a piece of candy out of him, and even the baby reached his hands out curiously at the produce; Han offered him a piece of meiloorun that he chewed thoughtfully before spitting out on the floor, to Threepio’s consternation.

Leia returned right as the cook droid was setting out dinner, burning with triumphant fire. “I’ve gotten Admiral Narro recalled to Coruscant,” she said as soon as she’d finished greeting the twins. “The military was adamant about protecting their own, but the transcripts and video provided enough reason for her to be put under review for her handling of the situation.”

“You’re so beautiful when you’re pursuing justice,” said Han, kissing her cheek.

Luke suppressed an eyeroll as he started serving dinner to the children. “What about the Imperial remnants the Mandalorian was talking about?” he asked. “I can’t believe Narro didn’t want to at least try and get that information.”

“I can’t either,” said Leia, her eyes narrowing. “Winter is assembling a summary of known Imperial activity for me. Narro’s idea of slicing the Mandalorian’s ship was a poor plan; any slicer with half a brain could delete or at least scramble that data. Especially if -” Her eyes landed on the baby, and she amended what she was going to say. “If it could put people in danger.”

The twins were starting to pay attention, so the adults turned the conversation to other things. Dinner and playtime after passed peacefully; Luke even persuaded the baby to eat by pretending to feed the Mandalorian toy first, and Jacen and Jaina got the baby involved in some sort of chase game that should tire him out. Hopefully Luke would be able to get some more work done tonight. He wanted to watch the videos without the baby interrupting, and he wanted to meditate and see what guidance the Force might have for him. It had been days since he’d taken time to recenter himself.

It would be a relief to have a peaceful evening.

-

Din pulled the timer bomb off his belt and turned it to its longest setting. He’d finally figured something out, but it was a risky plan. A very small part of his brain told him he’d be better waiting it out, observing more, but most of him was screaming that he needed to get his kid back and out of Skywalker’s clutches  _ now, _ before something happened. They could move the kid and put him back at square one in his hunt. The thought made his blood run cold.

He’d spent the whole day scouting the apartment building relentlessly and had finally decided he needed a distraction that would take care of security throughout the building. No droid monitors, no human guards, no passcodes for him to bypass. Fortunately, Coruscant being a city-planet of thousands of beings that took up hundreds of kilowatts meant that power generators were everywhere.

The main generator for the grid was a short distance away but this being a luxury building meant that its owners would never let their tenants suffer from an inconvenience like a hiccup in power. The building had its own supplementary generators, and Din had found one midway up the building that must supply power to the upper floors. The narrow walkways that barely hit common safety standards indicated it was likely tended almost entirely by droids, and throughout the day Din had observed that it was checked every two hours. Just now the droids had come, inspected it, and left on their rounds again, which meant it was time for Din to act.

He looked around to make sure the speeder garage was still empty before walking over to the speeder he’d already chosen. It was small, definitely meant for a smaller species than him, but he’d only need it for a few minutes and more importantly, its exposed wiring meant it would be easy to hotwire. Carefully he fiddled with the wiring until the speeder hummed to life.

Din inched the speeder out to the edge of the garage. The opening was wide to allow for several to enter and exit safely, although no one was doing so now. He glanced around outside; dusk had long passed and the sky was lit with the twinkling lights of neverending traffic and countless skyscrapers.

It would be smarter to wait a few more hours, to hit in the dead of night. People were always slower to respond; Skywalker and the others would likely be asleep and it might be easier to grab his kid. But, he reasoned, people were going to wake up when the bomb went off anyway. And he knew, he just  _ knew _ the kid had seen him and was waiting for him. Just like last time, he couldn’t let his kid down.

One last glance to make sure no one was close, and he kicked the speeder into gear towards the supplementary generator.

The apartment building was just across from the garage and it was a short journey. Din jumped off the speeder, balancing carefully on the tiny walkway. The railings did not look secure enough to hold up if a man in full beskar fell onto them.

He set the timer bomb to start its countdown and pressed it to the outside of the generator. He turned the speeder around and set it on autopilot, facing back towards the garage. He hoped it was still empty and let the speeder go, and then he ran.

He didn’t look back but heard the crash as the speeder ran into the garage opposite. His boots clanged loudly on the metal walkway, echoing the sirens that were starting to go off. It disguised the sound of the timer bomb ticking down but he knew it was going; even its lengthiest setting wasn’t very long.

The walkway curled away from the generator and around the building itself, towards the turbolift shaft. He had to make it at least this far. He wasn’t sure how big a blast his bomb would cause. His timer bomb shouldn’t be powerful enough to blow the entire thing, but it would put it out of commission and attract plenty of attention from the apartment building’s security. In any case he wanted to be as far away as possible.

He could hear more sirens; local law enforcement and fire services were surely about to arrive and they would be looking for anything suspicious, like a man running along the opposite walkway. The walkway creaked worryingly under his boots and Din slowed just a little, counting down in his head. He had less than a minute by now.

The walkway turned again and the outside of the turbolift shaft was ahead. Din skidded to a halt at the end of the walkway. Now that he was here, suddenly this plan seemed much more foolhardy. He was very high up.

He also had about ten seconds before the power generator blew up.

Din aimed for the transparisteel and triggered his grapple line. It flew out, just long enough to connect, and he swung off the railing just as the timer bomb went off.

Din slammed into the side of the turbolift shaft, his ears ringing as the beskar helmet made contact. He shook his vision clear and glanced back; the power generator looked intact from this angle, but he could see a thick haze of smoke masking the city lights. He needed to move before anyone started looking for suspects - or if he did his job too well and they started evacuating the building.

He yanked his vibroknife from his boot and stabbed into the transparisteel. It was thick, thick enough he wasn’t certain his knife could even pierce it. He attacked again, and again, and barely made a scratch. Din growled with irritation, braced himself as best he could while suspended from his grapple, and stabbed with all the force he could muster.

A crack sliced through the transparisteel. Heartened, Din hit it again, and again, until finally the transparisteel shattered. Shards fell into the shaft, glittering in the city light, leaving a hole roughly the size of the kid.

Carefully - gloves or no gloves, broken transparisteel was sharp - Din pried off pieces until the hole was big enough for him to slip through. He peered down, his helmet compensating for the low light, and saw the doorway to the building proper. The label indicated it was the thirteenth floor.

A sudden squeal from below indicated that the lift itself was rapidly approaching his position.

Din waited impatiently. He hated being exposed on the outside of a turbolift shaft but he hated the idea of being pasted by a turbolift even more. He watched the turbolift capsule rocket up, slow, and then stop at the floor below him. Muffled voices indicated people were exiting.

He only had a moment. Carefully, he slipped through the jagged hole he’d created and released his line, dropped down on to the turbolift. He heard the sound of the door closing, and aimed his grapple line at the next floor up. It soared out and landed on the doorway’s edge and the second it did the turbolift beneath him dropped.

Din swallowed the bile in his throat at the sickening lurch as he was suddenly left dangling in an active turbolift shaft. Quickly he wedged his feet against the wall, seeking out some kind of purchase and managing to find enough to scrabble up the wall, pulling himself up along the line. Praying no one was on the other side or that the lift didn’t come rocketing back up, he forced the doors open and propelled himself through.

The hallway he came out into was completely quiet. The plush carpeting seemed to absorb everything, even the sound of his footsteps, as he searched for the emergency door that should be near the turbolift. It was well-disguised, but a subtle sign marked the stairway just a few feet away. Din slipped inside, finding himself in a plain stairwell that stretched endlessly above and below. The door behind him was marked with a 12. His kid was on the sixth floor.

The climb up the stairs was grueling, but no more so than many other journeys he’d had. The brown stairs reminded him a little of the rock formations he’d seen on Arvala-7 while riding with Kuiil. The ride on the blurrgs hadn’t been particularly easy or pleasant, but the end had been all worth it. He’d found his kid. At the end of that journey, after his aching rear in the saddle for hours and the damn droid and the massive gunfight, he’d gotten to see those big brown eyes and tiny little fingers. He couldn’t wait to see them again.

Din slowed, reexamining the memory. No, that wasn’t right. Then, he’d found his bounty. Just another bounty. A child, so it wasn’t right to kill him, of course, but he’d still had every intention of turning that innocent little creature in when he’d stood there and offered him his finger. The blurrgs, the gunfight, the mess with the Jawas, the karking mudhorn, that’d all just been part of the job. Even when the child had saved his life, he’d still gone and turned him over to the Imps. And even when he’d got him back, it’d been nothing but running from bounty hunters, surviving on ration bars, and now he’d failed to protect him and gotten the kid taken away again.

Maybe… maybe he didn’t deserve to have him back.

The child had strange powers and so did Skywalker. Skywalker might be able to teach him in a way Din never could. And maybe this was what he’d wanted from Sorgan for the kid. A place for the child to grow up safe. The heart of the New Republic had to be a safe place from the Empire. And Republic heroes were surely capable guardians who could protect him and provide for him. The kid would want for nothing, right?

He could turn around right now. Walk down the stairs, slip away, fly off in his ship knowing the kid was in more capable hands than his.

He tried to imagine it but he couldn’t manage it. All he could picture was the empty crate back in the cockpit, the frog waiting for someone who would never come back. His arms aching with emptiness, no familiar weight in them ever again. No more sweet coos, no more claws clicking on the metal floor, no more tugs on his cloak or his boots.

Suddenly he was rocketing up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time, a terrible ache in his chest. What was he thinking? He couldn’t leave his kid! His kid was waiting for him! He promised he’d come get him! Even if he was the worst caretaker in the galaxy, even if all he could offer was a life on the run, he'd promised his kid that he would come get him! He was still this child’s father, and he was going to get him back.

The stun blaster was already in his hand by the time he burst out into the sixth floor. Din scanned for any security but saw none. A quick glance out the nearby window oriented him; he recognized the building he’d spent the day in and could see the faint outline of the park building where he’d seen his boy. That meant the door ahead was surely the one to Organa’s apartment.

Din didn’t hesitate. He strode right over, blaster raised and ready, and kicked it in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....Don't be too mad at me for the cliffhanger?
> 
> Be mad at Din! He was so difficult to write this chapter! If you follow my Tumblr [this post](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/post/612806367719440384/behind-the-scenes-writing-mandalorian-fic) was about Din deciding to have a fatherhood crisis in the stairwell at the end of this chapter. (It's The Witcher soundtrack's fault, it makes me write sad things.) And don't even get me started on how long it took for me to figure out how he was gonna break in. I agonized over how to make a convincing plan for THAT. (Until I remembered Din, ilu but you are a DUMBASS who just somehow makes it work through sheer force of will, so I went with that.)
> 
> Baby Yoda's commentary for this chapter:  
> Every time Luke tries to watch a video of Dad: "DAD DAD CAN YOU HEAR ME I NEED YOU TO PICK ME UP DAD DAAAAAAAAAD"  
> "Hmm, it IS kinda cool to look out this nice big window and OMG IT'S DAD DAD HI HI HI DAD HI DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD HEY JACEN JAINA LIAR DUDE LOOK IT'S MY DAD"  
> "Oh thank the Force Dad is finally coming. I can just chill until he gets here, that's how this usually works. Let's play ball! Jacen, Jaina, if you're lucky my Dad will show you the sparkles!"  
> "Oh, Tiny Toy Version of Dad, you are the only one who understand me - HEY HANDS OFF TINY TOY DAD, GOLDENROD"


	12. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and company discover the baby has been located by his parent.

Luke did not ignore the Force when it whispered to him, and right now it was shouting. He was out of bed and in the hall with his lightsaber in hand before he’d even understood what had jolted him out of sleep.

“I felt it too,” said Leia breathlessly, out in the hall with her blaster in hand and her loose hair somehow still elegant even after sleep; Han was right behind her, also armed.

“The power’s out,” said Han. “Something’s going on.”

“Get the kids,” ordered Leia.

Luke hurried back into his room and to his surprise, found the kid awake and alert and completely unconcerned, his ears perked as high as Luke had ever seen them. “Come on, little one,” said Luke, trying to exude calm as he picked up the baby.

The baby didn’t protest in the slightest, shaking his Mandalorian toy. “Aah daah,” he said cheerfully.

Whatever had woken him and Leia, the baby wasn’t perturbed, and babbled at Jacen and Jaina when they met Han and Leia carrying the twins out in the hallway. “Daddy?” asked Jaina sleepily from her father’s arms. “What’s going on?”

“Not sure, sweetheart,” said Han. “But just in case we’re gonna have you and Jacen and the baby hang out in the secret closet for a bit, okay?”

“Mommy, I left Scratchy,” said Jacen, reaching behind him towards the twins’ room.

“Your loth-cat will be fine, Jacen,” said Leia.

“Scratchy is scared, Mommy,” said Jacen, burying his face in Leia’s hair.

“We’ll look after Scratchy, Jacen,” said Luke soothingly. “Can you and Jaina keep an eye on the baby for a bit?”

Han keyed the entry code for the “secret closet,” a small emergency panic room just big enough for the three children to sit; an adult would have to stand. Once the twins had been born, Leia and Han had decided it was smart to have a place to hide the twins if there was any danger, and while Luke had thought at the time they were overreacting a little, he was glad of it now.

Han and Leia extricated each twin from their arms with a kiss on the head and a reassurance that it wouldn’t be for long. Reluctantly, the twins obeyed, sitting on the ground with wide eyes. The baby was not nearly as agreeable. For once he clung to Luke’s arms and pointed desperately at the door, whining.

“It’s just for a little while,” said Luke. “I’ll be back soon. Jacen, can you hold him?”

The baby fussed louder, pointing towards the door, but allowed Luke to put him in Jacen’s lap. Jacen held him tight. The last thing Luke saw before the door shut was the baby protesting and waving his Mandalorian toy.

“Do we know why the power’s out?” asked Luke.

“No,” said Han, “but it must be something with the supplementary generator. We’ve never had an outage like this before, even during maintenance.”

The emergency panic room had its own power pack and that door would lock, but the main door wouldn’t be locked right now and their other security measures would be down. Luke sincerely wished Artoo was here.

“Luke,” said Leia suddenly, raising her blaster.

“I sense it too,” said Luke, hurrying after her towards the main door, Han right behind him. Someone was coming, he could sense it now, someone with a single-minded focus right on their apartment -

The door was kicked in. Luke’s lightsaber sprang to life with a  _ snap-hiss _ and the intruder was illuminated in green light. The blaster and his garb were nondescript enough, but there was no mistaking the distinctive T-shape on the helmet.

“Where’s my kid?” demanded the Mandalorian.

They all stood there in a bizarre standoff until Han broke the silence with “Get out of my house.”

“I want my kid. I know he’s here, I  _ saw _ him,  _ give him to me,” _ demanded the Mandalorian. The blaster he held never wavered from Luke, although Luke could sense the Mandalorian ready to move at a moment’s notice if Leia or Han tried to shoot.

“You’re the Mandalorian,” said Luke, trying to project calm. A lot of calm. “The one on the prison ship.”

“And you’re the bastard who took my kid,” said the Mandalorian. “Give him back.”

“We don’t do demands at gunpoint around here, pal,” snapped Han. “Put the blaster down and we’ll think about it.”

“Han,” said Leia softly before speaking to the Mandalorian herself. “We know the child is yours. Lower your blaster and we can talk about this.”

“I  _ want _ my  _ kid,” _ said the Mandalorian, completely resistant to any attempt from Luke to calm the tense atmosphere; instead, his desperation was leaking into the Force overwhelmingly. “Give him to me. Now.”

His fist clenched and Luke heard the whine of some weapon priming and Han aimed right at the Mandalorian’s neck and Leia at his gut and Luke angled his saber in a defensive position, ready for a strike and the Force screamed in his mind and then -

There was a screech as the panic room door slammed open and a loud wail as the little green baby rocketed out, arms outstretched, the Mandalorian toy falling forgotten from his hands. Luke ducked down, trying to grab him, and hit an invisible wall as the baby ran past him and straight at the Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian scooped him up and held him close to his chest with his free hand but it wasn’t good enough for the baby, who stretched up and clung to the Mandalorian’s neck, trilling happily. Luke could feel him let go of how close he’d been keeping his feelings, and now the Force was full of pure, overwhelming joy - and Luke realized it wasn’t just from the baby. There was no other way to describe the Mandalorian’s feelings than that of a father finally finding his lost son.

Luke deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt, raising his hands.

“Kid, what are you doing?” asked Han tightly.

The Mandalorian’s blaster had never wavered, even while he reclaimed his kid, and it was still pointed right at Luke. “Please lower your weapon and come in,” said Luke evenly. “We want to talk to you.”

He hardly needed the Force to sense the Mandalorian’s hesitation. The Mandalorian started to take a step back.

“We’re not going to take your child,” said Leia, picking up on Luke’s thoughts. “We’d already figured out he was yours. I saw the claims you made to Admiral Narro. I want to hear what you know about the Imperial remnants.”

“I want you away from my kids,” said Han, grip tightening on his blaster.

That got a reaction. “I  _ don’t _ hurt children,” said the Mandalorian angrily. “I wouldn’t be here if that karking Admiral hadn’t taken  _ my _ kid.”

“We’re not going to take your kid,” said Luke. “We just want to talk.” He glanced through the door. “And with the power down, security is going to be swarming this place any minute. Come in. Please.”

He could sense the Mandalorian wavering. The kid babbled, patting the helmet, and finally he said, “All right.”

_ “After _ the blaster gets put down,” said Han.

Leia holstered hers, but Han and the Mandalorian had a stare-off before slowly lowering their blasters at the same time. The Mandalorian stepped inside, and Han pulled the door shut, keeping his eye on the Mandalorian at all times.

Leia, ever the diplomat, gestured to the couch and said, “Make yourself at home.”

The Mandalorian stared at her but then took the offer, slowly making his way to the couch. The seriousness of the situation was offset by the baby, who was babbling nonstop at his parent and tugging at the hood and scarf, revealing the distinctive silver helmet inch by inch. Once the Mandalorian sat down the baby was right in his face, chattering urgently and pulling the hood all the way off. The beskar gleamed in the light from outside.

“Is that the baby’s daddy?” asked Jacen’s voice from behind him. Luke turned but Han was already over there, scooping both the twins up.

“I wanna meet him,” said Jaina. “Is he a real Mandalorian?”

“You two need to go back in the panic room,” said Han tensely.

“I don’t hurt children,” snapped the Mandalorian again.

“You barged in my house with a blaster -”

“To rescue my kid! From you!”

“Enough,” said Leia in a tone that brooked no argument. “Jacen, Jaina go in your room and stay there with Threepio. The adults need to talk.”

Threepio poked his head out of the twins’ room. “Princess Leia, I was shut down, did you call - oh my.”

The Mandalorian was tense as a tauntaun in a wampa cave and the sight of Threepio did not help anything. The baby chirred and pointed at Threepio, waving his hand dismissively and patting the Mandalorian’s helmet almost reassuringly.

“It’s all right, Threepio,” said Leia. “Take the twins.”

Leia’s tone of voice was enough to make them obey, let alone the authority she was exuding in the Force. Jacen handed his father the Mandalorian toy. “He dropped it, Daddy.”

“We’ll give it to him.” Han took it and watched as Threepio herded the twins to their room. Han returned to the couch and sat by Leia, leaning forward and staring very intently at the Mandalorian. Luke almost sat by their unexpected guest, but the look he received from the implacable helmet, although devoid of any real expression, convinced him to sit by his sister instead.

Silence stretched between them, except for the baby, who was curled up as close as he could to the Mandalorian and cooing contentedly.

The Mandalorian clearly wasn’t going to speak first, and Luke knew Leia probably didn’t want to go straight into demanding information, and clearly they needed to put him at ease to get him to talk. “Can I offer you anything to drink?”

“No.”

The helmet. Right. “He’s very happy to see you,” said Luke, gesturing at the baby. “He missed you.”

The Mandalorian tilted his head but said nothing. The baby’s claws hooked on the bottom edge of the helmet. “Abadaah,” he cooed happily.

“He’s how we knew you were telling the truth,” said Luke.

“He doesn’t talk."

“I know, but he found other ways.” Luke reached out and Han wordlessly handed him the Mandalorian toy; Luke offered it to the baby, who took and waved it in the Mandalorian’s face until the Mandalorian pushed it down.

“He wouldn’t commune in the Force with me, but he showed me a glimpse of his life with you,” said Luke. “He’s been wanting to go back. He really missed you.”

That got a flicker of curiosity out of the Mandalorian, though he was carefully still and didn’t show it outwardly. “He… showed you?”

“He’s strong in the Force. Very strong,” said Luke. The Mandalorian just kept looking at him blankly, so Luke finally asked, “He’s already shown us he has some control. Have you ever seen him lift anything with only his mind?”

“Yes. Jedi magic. He can do that.” The Mandalorian adjusted the child in his arms, lowering him so the Mandalorian toy could no longer be waved in his face. “Like your children.”

“How the hell do you know about our kids?” demanded Han. “If there’s a bounty on them -”

“I  _ told _ you,” said the Mandalorian angrily, “I don’t hurt children.” He pointed at the window. “I saw them playing some game. Moving the ball with their mind.”

“Oh,” said Luke, as Han asked, “You were spying on us?”

“So that’s what he saw,” said Luke before Han and the Mandalorian could start another round of paternal bristling. Seeing everyone else’s confusion, he pointed at the kid and said, “He was waving at something earlier. I didn’t think anything of it, but I bet he saw you.”

“He did,” said the Mandalorian. “He waved at me.”

“He clearly knew you were here. He didn’t want to hide,” said Leia. “He’s very attached to you.”

“He’s mine,” said the Mandalorian.

“Yeah, you said that,” said Han.

The Mandalorian turned to glare at him and Leia took a turn to defuse the impending argument. “We received a copy of the video and transcripts of your interview with Admiral Narro -”

“It was an interrogation,” said the Mandalorian.

“Yes, I am aware of the situation,” said Leia. “But you mentioned Imperial remnants. I wanted to talk to you about those.”

Luke didn’t miss the way the Mandalorian’s arms tightened around his child. “Why?”

“I’ve spent my entire life working to stop the Empire,” said Leia. “I don’t intend to stop until no one is being hurt by the Empire again. You said the Empire had captured this child, didn’t you?”

The Mandalorian hesitated, but said, “I did.”

“If Force-sensitive children are in danger, I am not going to let it keep happening,” said Leia, now in full Senatorial mode. “It’s… unorthodox, but given the circumstances and the fact that you and your child were unjustly treated, I’m willing to forgo any knowledge of you being on Coruscant, and return custody of your child to you, in exchange for everything you know about this Imperial remnant and their plans for Force-sensitive children.”

“Why should I believe you? Why should I believe any of you?” demanded the Mandalorian. “You took my kid, how do I know you won’t again?”

Luke exchanged looks with Leia and Han before deciding honesty was the best policy. “I didn’t know about the whole situation when he was sent to me,” said Luke. “I’m sorry for what happened. I can sense that you’re upset.” The Mandalorian bristled, and Luke decided he’d better stop using the Force on him, or at least mentioning it. “This child - he’s amazing. None of us want him in danger from the Empire. I don’t want my niece and nephew in danger, or any other child who can use the Force. I’m sure you don’t want that either.”

The Mandalorian turned his attention to the baby tugging relentlessly on his poncho. Luke didn’t need to see his face to pick up the fondness in the way he looked down. “He is amazing.”

“You mentioned a location?” prompted Leia.

The baby fussed and the Mandalorian bounced him in his arms in a practiced way that spoke to the fact he’d definitely had the child for some time. “Nevarro,” said the Mandalorian. “I rescued him from a facility on Nevarro. There was some sort of Imperial dignitary there, and a scientist called Pershing…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last.... the reunion you've all been waiting for! I hope you enjoyed. After this there will be two more chapters to wind the story down/finish it up and then this fic will be done. :)
> 
> Baby Yoda's take on this chapter can simply be summed up with DAD IT'S DAD OMG DAD MY DAD MY DAD IS BACK I WANT MY DAD MY DAD MY DAD DAD DAD DAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!


	13. From the Mouths of Babes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children have lots of commentary on the current situation.

Luke watched Leia tuck the twins into her and Han’s bed while Han flitted around the room anxiously and then back to the door. “You’re sure he’s not gonna try anything?” he whispered. “You know, just because I believe in that Force stuff now doesn’t mean that -”

“He’s not going to hurt anyone, Han,” said Luke in a low voice. “He just wanted his kid, like he said.” He raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one telling us to give him the benefit of the doubt anyway?”

“That was before he barged into the place where my wife and kids sleep armed to the teeth,” hissed Han. “I just checked the apartment news feed and the supplementary generator was partially blown up and the turbolift shows signs of a break-in, and we are probably hiding the man who did it.”

“Just think of it as smuggling,” said Luke. At Han’s unamused face, he said, “He’s just a man who wants his kid. Once things quiet down he’ll leave and I doubt he’ll want anything to do with us again.” Han still didn’t look convinced, so he added, “Trust me.”

Han sighed heavily. “I do, kid, I do.” He glanced back at the twins, who were sleepily protesting as Leia adjusted the blankets. “Sure you don’t want me to keep an eye on him?”

“You watch your kids and I’ll watch the Mandalorian,” said Luke. With Han, the odds were probably fifty-fifty that the two would either end up playing a friendly game of sabacc or in a shootout. Han gave him a nod and shut the door.

The power had flickered back on in the last half-hour and Luke walked over to the kitchen to make himself some caf, since he wouldn’t be getting back to sleep for a while. He pretended to pay no mind to the visitor currently stretched out on his sister’s couch, though he could sense the Mandalorian keeping an eye on him. The bounty hunter had leaned back on a pillow, deceptively relaxed, to allow the child to sit on his stomach and chatter away to his heart’s content. He was still going; the baby had been demanding attention from the Mandalorian nonstop since he arrived, and had been very pleased when his father had finally stopped talking to Leia and started talking to him instead. Luke had barely been able to keep a straight face when the Mandalorian had kept being interrupted by a little green hand waving in his face, no matter how many times he put it down.

Luke kept watching while the caf brewed. The baby was telling an entire epic tale, waving his hands for emphasis, and the Mandalorian listened with rapt attention, nodding along and occasionally responding as seriously as if he was talking to an adult. The baby paused to catch his breath and the Mandalorian took one of his tiny hands in between his fingers. “You’re right,” said the Mandalorian softly, “That was a bad idea.”

The baby turned and pointed over at Luke, and suddenly the Mandalorian sat back up, focused on him intently. “I didn’t mean to stare,” said Luke apologetically. He pointed back at the kitchen. “I’m making caf; do you want any? Or anything to eat?”

“No,” said the Mandalorian.

“Aah!” said the baby, waving at Luke imperiously.

“Oh, you’re hungry?” asked Luke. “I’ll find you something.”

“He’s carnivorous. He only eats meat,” said the Mandalorian.

“We figured that out eventually, didn’t we, little one?” said Luke cheerfully before pulling out a container of leftover stew from the conservator and heating it up. He brought it over and handed it to the child, who showed his father and waited for an approving nod before slurping eagerly at it.

“He gave us a hard time at mealtimes sometimes, but he has been eating,” said Luke.

“Good,” said the Mandalorian, catching the bowl when the baby tipped it too far and almost spilled its contents on his lap. The baby cooed and offered the bowl up to his father. “No,” said the Mandalorian. The baby whined, insisting, but the Mandalorian pushed it down. “No thank you. You finish it.”

The baby chirred grumpily but gulped down the rest of the stew. “Aah!” he said imperiously again, holding the bowl out to Luke.

“We need to teach you the word ‘please,’” said Luke dryly, taking the bowl and setting it on the nearby table. The second the bowl was taken the baby hopped off the Mandalorian’s lap and was toddling with single-minded focus to the toybox.

“Hey!” said the Mandalorian, jumping up, his eyes never leaving the baby - or at least Luke could sense his intent, as the helmet hid the Mandalorian’s gaze from view.

“It’s okay. He just wants some of the toys.” The baby was no longer keeping his feelings so close; now that the Mandalorian was here he was… comfortable was the best way Luke could describe it.

With a flick of the baby's hand the toybox lid flew back; another gesture and toys started flying out. The baby giggled before scooping up one of Jaina’s starships and toddling back to the Mandalorian, setting the toy in his lap and chirping proudly. “This is a YT freighter,” said the Mandalorian. “It’s an older model.”

The baby went back, bringing a figurine this time. “Twi’lek,” said the Mandalorian. “Originated on Ryloth but found all over the galaxy.”

The game continued, with the baby intent on showing the Mandalorian all of the toys. The Mandalorian named every one presented to him, and Luke had to remind himself he would be a poor host if he laughed at the admittedly absurd sight of a fully armored Mandalorian drowning in toys.

Finally the baby brought out the ball, chirping excitedly as he levitated it above his head.

“You are very strong,” said the Mandalorian. The baby tossed him the ball, and he caught it. The big ears drooped and he whined.

“What?” asked the Mandalorian, before tossing him back the ball. The baby caught it without touching it, making it float above his head. “Aah, baadaah.” He tossed it back, but when the Mandalorian caught it again, pulled it right out of his hands with the Force and tossed it to Luke. Instinctively, Luke made it float, and the baby pointed at him and told his father “Aab.”

“You want me to do that?” asked the Mandalorian. He sighed. “I can’t do that, kid.”

“Bweh,” said the baby grumpily. He turned back to Luke, and Luke almost jumped as the baby actively reached out for him in the Force. _ PlayballJacenJainafunfriends? _

“They’re asleep,” said Luke. “You can play with them later.”

The baby chirred grumpily, pulled the ball right out of Luke’s hands and tossed it towards the toybox. He missed but turned away and crawled back into the Mandalorian’s lap.

The Mandalorian adjusted him automatically, pushing some of the toys off his lap to accommodate the child, who grabbed his Mandalorian toy. The Mandalorian glanced between the baby and Luke before finally saying, “You can talk to him?”

“Sort of?” Luke tried to think of how to explain it to someone who had never even heard of the Force; even when he had to explain these things to Han, Han at least had some background knowledge. “Through the Force I can sense feelings, wants, that sort of thing - not specific words, usually. I’ve tried to communicate with him before, but that was the first time he actively tried to communicate with me.”

“What’d he say?”

“He wants to play with the twins.” The baby chirred agreement with Luke’s words, and sent Luke  _ JacenJainafriendsfun _ again.

“He likes playing with other children but never gets the opportunity. It’s… good he made friends,” said the Mandalorian, pulling the baby a little closer.

“I’m glad he likes the twins. They’re the only thing that got him calmed down when he arrived,” said Luke. “He sure wasn’t happy when he came here. He kept trying to get out and definitely didn’t want anything to do with us.” He chuckled. “He’s a handful.”

Luke could sense a smile even if he couldn’t see it.  _ “Jate,” _ said the Mandalorian to his child.

“Like I said, I tried to communicate with him through the Force, but all I got was that he wanted to go back to you,” said Luke. “He’s been trying to tell us he wants you every way he could since he got here.”

As if on cue, the baby pulled up his Mandalorian toy and stuck it in his father’s face. “Daah,” he said.

“You missed me?” asked the Mandalorian quietly.

The baby waved his toy in front of the T-visor, and Luke picked up  _ warmhappycomfortsafehome wanthome gohomewithyou. _

So quietly that Luke almost couldn’t hear, the Mandalorian said, “I missed you too.”

-

Din knew Skywalker was keeping an eye on him rather than just being friendly, but he hardly minded. He would’ve done the same if their positions were reversed, and there were children in this house to protect. Maybe if he’d had someone to watch the kid during that horribly botched job of Ran’s, he wouldn’t be in this position now.

He wasn’t about to relax or let his guard down, and like hell would he let his kid out of his sight, but he had to admit it wasn’t bad here. Skywalker was overly friendly and talkative but Din wasn’t going to turn down an opportunity to try and pry out more knowledge about his kid’s sorcery - the Force, he reminded himself. He had a name for it now. His kid could use the Force.

If nothing else, it wasn’t a bad thing for the kid to have an opportunity to relax and play. Skywalker commented multiple times that the kid was so much happier now that he was here. Din hadn’t seen the kid’s behavior during his stint trapped here, but he’d take Skywalker’s word for it. Right now the kid was as happy as he’d been on Sorgan. He wanted to show Din every toy, the view out the window, the different rooms in the apartment. He babbled more than Din had ever heard him, tugging on his poncho or boot the second Din tried to pay attention to anything else. He didn’t mind walking by himself for short periods of time, but like clockwork, after a few minutes he would suddenly rush back to Din and demand to be held for a while.

Din obliged every time. Carrying the kid wasn’t hard. The hard part was putting him back down when he wanted to walk again.

He tried to keep a close eye on Skywalker, tried to assess the threat he and the others posed, tried to think about how to pry out more knowledge of the Force without being obvious, tried to stay on maximum alert since he was in unknown territory with unknown people, but every time he saw his kid again that all went out the window. He wanted to hold him forever, feel the tiny claws grasp his fingers, listen to those precious coos, watch the way the brown eyes kept locking on his face and a huge smile would spread on the baby’s face and those big ears would perk up so high he almost looked like a damn loth-cat.

He still had enough self-control to not betray his feelings in front of Skywalker, but sometimes he couldn’t stop himself from pressing his forehead to the kid’s and whispering, “Yeah, I’m glad to see you too.” He blinked his eyes to keep them carefully dry; he had no intention of removing his helmet for any reason until they’d returned to the safety of the ship.

It was almost dawn by the time the babbles started being replaced by yawns. Din knew what that meant, and lay the kid back in his arms and started to rock automatically. The kid always fought sleep unless he got some attention.

“There’s a crib in my room, if you want to put him down,” said Skywalker.

“He stays with me,” said Din, barely waiting for Skywalker to finish speaking. Just because these people were friendly enough did not mean he was letting his kid out of his sight. Ever.

The kid’s eyes started to droop shut, but suddenly they flew open and the kid lurched up, scrabbling for his armor and whining loudly.

“What?” asked Din. “Do you want your toy?” He reached down to pluck the Mandalorian figurine off the couch where it had been left and tucked it in the kid’s arms before laying him down again. The kid settled for a moment, but then reached up again, whining.

“You’re tired,” Din told him. “You’ve been up all night. Go to sleep.”

The kid wasn’t having it, fussing louder and reaching up, practically climbing his poncho until he could cling to the scarf around his neck. Din’s attempts to dislodge him met with a loud wail that made him stop immediately. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Was something here distressing him? Maybe he should try and take him back to the ship now… 

“May I?” asked Skywalker, appearing out of nowhere way too quietly in a way Din did not like at all. But Skywalker had the Force and Din didn’t, so Din nodded anyway.

Skywalker closed his eyes for a moment; the kid whined but looked at Skywalker briefly before burying his face back in Din’s neck. Skywalker opened his eyes. “He’s worried you’ll leave while he’s asleep.”

The thought of putting the kid down at all, let alone leaving, made Din’s throat tighten so much it hurt. He resettled the kid in his arms and blinked the wetness from his eyes to give himself a moment before he spoke. “I’m not leaving. Go to sleep.”

The kid finally pressed his face against Din’s chest, chirring grumpily at the poncho and tapping it with his claws as if to make sure the beskar was still underneath. He yawned hugely, hugging his Mandalorian toy tight, and Din had hardly rocked him more than twice before he was out like a light.

-

The Mandalorian was not particularly talkative, and Luke found his efforts at conversation and his offers of food and the crib rebuffed without exception, so he settled in to some light meditation while keeping an eye on the unexpected guest. The Mandalorian seemed content to hold the baby as he slept, standing at the window and later sitting back down on the couch. Luke could sense he was trying to stay on the alert but he was tired and completely unable to resist watching the baby fondly instead. It reminded Luke of when the twins had been born and he and Han and Leia had spent excessive periods of time just holding the new babies and marveling at every tiny detail on their precious faces, and he had to suppress a smile. Even if he'd still had any doubts about the Mandalorian truly being the baby’s parent, they would be long gone by now.

They had an hour or so to enjoy the sunrise before Han came out of the room, yawning but still plenty alert and wary. “Morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” said Luke; the Mandalorian nodded and started rocking the baby when it shifted in his arms.

Han set the caf machine to making another batch before returning to his room; in a few minutes he and Leia returned with the twins rocketing out in front of them. “Good morning!” they practically yelled, jumping all over Luke before turning to stare at the Mandalorian with fascinated glee.

“Are you really the baby’s daddy?” asked Jacen from his perch halfway onto Luke’s shoulders.

The Mandalorian regarded him for a moment, absently rocking the child in his arms, before answering, “Yes.”

“I told you,” said Jaina, who was on Luke’s lap. “Are you a real Mandalorian?”

“Yes.”

“You really don’t ever take your helmet off?”

“Jaina, what did I tell you? Don’t be rude,” chided Leia.

The Mandalorian seemed unperturbed by the question. “This is the Way.”

“Daddy said you don’t take your helmets off. How do you eat? Do you use a straw?” asked Jacen.

“All right, both of you womp rats get over here and eat your breakfast,” said Han. The twins laughed but obeyed, darting over to the kitchen.

Luke gave the Mandalorian an apologetic glance. “Sorry about that. They’re still learning their manners, and they’re always curious.”

“They asked in order to learn, unlike most adults,” said the Mandalorian.

Luke had told himself he wouldn’t press any more, but he could sense that the Mandalorian was exhausted and hungry. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything to eat? You could eat in my room with the door shut.”

“I’ll eat on my ship,” said the Mandalorian firmly. He fixed the implacable T-visor on Luke. “When can I leave?”

“It would be easier to leave by night,” said Luke. “By then, hopefully any fuss about the generator will have… calmed down.”

The Mandalorian nodded. “Reasonable.”

It wasn’t long before Jacen and Jaina were back, crowding in the door and staring at the Mandalorian before darting over to where Luke was sitting on the couch. They settled on either side of Luke, eyes never leaving the Mandalorian, before Jacen asked, “Why aren’t you wearing your armor?”

“I am wearing it,” said the Mandalorian.

“What kind of ship do you fly? Is it a Mandalorian one?” asked Jaina eagerly.

“Yes.”

“Can I see it?”

“No.”

The twins wilted, though only for the briefest moment. “Can we play with the baby when he wakes up?” asked Jacen.

“If he wants,” said the Mandalorian, glancing down at the baby in his arms, who snuffled in his sleep and clutched his Mandalorian toy tighter.

“That’s his favorite,” said Jaina. “We shared it with him.”

“That was kind of you,” said the Mandalorian.

As if he knew he was being discussed, the baby yawned hugely, stretched, and sat up, blinking. As soon as he saw the Mandalorian he squealed happily and reached up to cling to the Mandalorian’s neck.

“Good morning to you too,” said the Mandalorian softly.

“Baby!” said the twins excitedly, and to Luke’s surprise - and the Mandalorian’s - they ran right up to the tall and helmeted stranger. “Can we play with him?” begged Jacen.

“Daddy said you were leaving soon, we want to play with him before he goes,” said Jaina.

The baby cooed and waved at the twins before excitedly pointing to the Mandalorian’s face, claws tapping against the T-visor until the Mandalorian put his hand down.

“Your daddy is nice,” said Jacen. “He can play too.”

The baby chirped excitedly, and with a wave of his hand the ball flew back over, and Jacen caught it and made it float. The baby clapped his hands and giggled before tugging on the Mandalorian’s poncho and pointing.

“You can play,” said the Mandalorian. He started to set the baby down, but the baby latched his claws back into the poncho and whined before turning to the twins.

“He wants to sit on your lap,” Jaina informed the Mandalorian.

“I call Uncle Luke!” said Jacen, scrambling over onto Luke’s lap.

“Mommy! Daddy! Come play!” called Jaina, waving over to where Han and Leia had been watching in the doorway.

Luke had played plenty of games of Force ball; he and Leia had used it to practice telekinesis and then the twins had loved it as soon as they’d been old enough to get the concept. But playing with his family and a Mandalorian who had broken into their apartment and a tiny baby version of Master Yoda was probably the strangest game of ball he’d ever played.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured all our heroes deserved some chill time. Especially Din, who has spent this entire fic flailing around in a fit of parental panic.
> 
> Next chapter will wrap up the story, and then MsJody13 requested Chapter 12 from Din's POV, and since I waffled about whose POV to use even after I posted, that was all the prompting I needed to actually write it lol, so that'll be added on to the end too.
> 
> Edit: HOW COULD I FORGET THE BABY YODA COMMENTARY??? I gotta stop posting while still half-asleep.  
> "...and THEN he said we were going home and they did NOT take me back to your ship THAT DUDE IS A LIAR but I guess he's sorta okay, he does bring me food whenever I demand it. That gold droid is annoying but you don't have to worry about him, he's not scary. But the kids are the most fun! They gave me a Tiny Toy Dad and let me play with all their stuff and..."  
> "Food? BRING ME FOOD, LIAR DUDE." "TAKE THIS BOWL AWAY AT ONCE, LIAR DUDE."  
> "Make it float, Dad. If HE can do it I bet you can too. ....You can't?"  
> "You're damn right I've been trying to tell them about you this whole time. Look at this tiny you, how could they not understand?!"  
> "Daaaaaaaaaaad come onnnnnnnnnn I wanna show you everythinggggggggggggg"  
> "I am NOT tired. But maybe I'll close my eyes. Promise you won't leave, Dad?"  
> "DAD YOU'RE STILL HERE!!!"  
> "Of course I want to play.....but only if you play with us too, Dad!"  
> "You guys gotta play with my dad! He's the coolest!"


	14. To The Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and his family say farewell. Din and his kid finally return home.

The twins begged to stay up late to say good-bye to the baby, and while Han and Leia tended to be strict about bedtime, this time they allowed it. Jacen and Jaina were clustered as close to the Mandalorian as they could manage; unlike the adults, they had found no reason to be wary of the fully armed warrior that had barged into their house. They’d spent the entire day pestering the Mandalorian with questions and requests to play that he’d taken with remarkable patience.

Luke stood to the side, already dressed and cloaked after his half-Force-meditation-half-nap session of the afternoon. He wanted to be alert while in the underworld. He’d offered to escort the Mandalorian back to his ship, and to his surprise hadn’t had to press the issue. He didn’t quite feel trusted - more like tolerated - but at least the Mandalorian saw the value of a guide who knew the area and who could safely get him out of the apartment building.

Right now Leia was showing the Mandalorian how to wrap one of her old baby slings around him to safely carry the baby. The poncho had been set aside for the moment and the suit of beskar armor was on full display. Han had straight-up whistled appreciatively when he’d seen it, no doubt running the price it would fetch in his head; old smuggler’s habits died hard. Luke didn’t know the market price for beskar, or fully understand what significance it had in Mandalorian culture beyond the fact that it was important, but knew enough to understand that this was a mark of status, and one that had to have been well-earned. He wondered what the Mandalorian had done to acquire it.

“...and you can retie it if you need to adjust. Just make sure he doesn’t slip out, but his grip is so strong I doubt you’ll have that problem.” Leia fixed the final knot, leaving the baby snugly attached to his father. “There.”

“Thank you,” said the Mandalorian. The baby cooed agreement, tapping his claws against the beskar and giggling happily.

“They’re handy,” said Leia. “I’m surprised you don’t have one already.”

The Mandalorian made a noncommittal noise that was lost under Jacen and Jaina’s sudden pleading. “Can’t we give him one more good-bye hug? Please?”

“You’ve already given him a dozen good-bye hugs,” said Han, trying and failing to hide a smile. “Let the poor man get the baby ready to go.”

The Mandalorian was already lifting the baby out of the sling and carefully set him on the ground. The baby cooed and giggled at the twins, reaching out and immediately receiving big yet gentle hugs from Jacen and Jaina.

“Bye-bye, baby,” said Jacen sadly, giving him a kiss on the head and earning a confused “Eh?” noise in response. Jaina copied him and gave the baby one last hug. “Bye, baby. Be good for your daddy.”

If the Mandalorian was irritated by what had to be at least the sixth time putting the baby down to say good-bye to the twins and then readjusting the baby in the sling Leia had given him, he gave no sign, even in the Force. Luke only sensed exhaustion and the desire to go home. The baby was happy as a scurrier in a trash heap, and curled up close to his father’s chest as the Mandalorian fixed the sling to keep it secured.

The Mandalorian threw his poncho back on; the baby peeked out from underneath as best he could, ears perked and eyes bright. “You stay down,” said the Mandalorian, patting his head until the baby ducked back under the poncho. He looked up at Luke. “You ready?”

“Ready,” said Luke.

Leia folded her hands in front of her. “Thank you for your information on the Imperial remnants. We  _ will _ be looking into it.”

“And keep the New Republic off your back,” added Han. “Leia’s good at smoothing things over.”

“Here,” said Jaina, holding up the Mandalorian toy the baby had been so fond of. “He can keep it.”

“We decided together,” said Jacen. “Because he likes it so much.”

The Mandalorian took the toy and carefully tucked it under the poncho, where a happy coo indicated the baby’s approval. “Thank you,” said the Mandalorian to them all. “Bwaboo,” added the baby, and a tiny green hand waved out at them all before retreating back under the poncho.

“Safe travels,” said Leia.

“Keep out of trouble,” added Han with a good-natured grin.

Luke walked over and checked to make sure the hallway was empty before gesturing to the Mandalorian. He nodded solemnly at Han, Leia, and even the twins before following Luke out the door.

-

Thanks to persistent politicians and paparazzi who were always trying to catch Rebel war heroes unawares, Luke knew plenty of quiet ways out of the apartment and through the city. It was late enough most people were minding their own business, and if a few started looking too closely at the two black cloaked figures wandering in their midst, well, a little nudge in the Force took care of that. Even the maglev trains were mercifully quiet, although that almost backfired when the Mandalorian toy clattered loudly to the floor. Luckily the Mandalorian soothed the distressed coo when it fell and the happy giggle when he tucked the toy back under his poncho before it could become an issue.

They made it to Black Sun territory without incident. Luke was careful to try and exude calm to hopefully influence the locals and also the Mandalorian, who was on tenterhooks.

“Stop reaching your hand up,” murmured Luke after the dozenth time he’d seen the Mandalorian cradle the barely noticeable lump on his chest under the poncho. “You’ll only draw attention.”

The Mandalorian grunted irritably, the sound disguising the baby’s giggle, and returned his hand to where it hovered just above his blaster.

The Mandalorian led now; he’d explained that his ship was docked at Underhaven Port back at the apartment. Han knew about it, though he hadn’t been there, being too respectable these days to be safe in Black Sun territory. Luke had to admit even he was a little nervous. It was definitely one of the most dangerous districts on Coruscant, and he was certain the Mandalorian knew that a curiosity like the baby would be worth a fortune down here. The mere thought made Luke’s heart ache.

They were getting close; there were signs directing one to Underhaven if you knew how to read the underworld’s symbols and code. They had practically made it to the door when a Falleen woman blocked their way.

“Fancy seeing you again,” she said to the Mandalorian, beaming.

Luke wrinkled his nose, evening his breathing and calling on the Force to help filter out the pheromones she was leaking into the air.

“So I’m guessing you met your contact,” said the Falleen. She was still smiling, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I thought maybe that would earn me a finder’s fee.”

The Mandalorian was not happy. “We’d already concluded our business.”

“Maybe I want a new deal,” said the Falleen slyly. “I mean, Shar trusts me. If I were to say that you’d cheated one of the Black Sun, and she should requisition your ship for herself, she’d probably listen.”

The Mandalorian said nothing. Luke heard the quiet whine of a weapon being primed.

“I want in on your deal,” said the Falleen, stepping forward. “I know whatever’s under that poncho wasn’t there before, and I -”

She was cut off by a curious coo and two little fingers pulling down the edge of the poncho, revealing an inquisitive little face.

“What the hell is that?” asked the Falleen.

Luke felt the warning in the Force, but before the Mandalorian could get his blaster all the way out, Luke focused on the Falleen and told her, “There’s nothing.”

She blinked, her gaze unfocusing slightly. “Huh. There’s nothing there.”

“He isn’t the Mandalorian you’re looking for.”

“Guess he wasn’t the Mandalorian I was looking for.”

One last touch against her mind, just a gentle nudge. “You should go.”

“I’ll go, then.” She walked off, stumbling a little, but regaining her footing and swiftly disappearing into the crowd.

Luke looked over to find the Mandalorian staring at him. “The Force has many uses,” Luke offered. He really wasn’t sure what the best way to explain a mind trick was, especially since he could sense a growing anger and suspicion in the Mandalorian. “It only works on the weak-minded,” said Luke. “Even if I tried, I doubt it would work on you. And no, I haven’t tried.”

“Stop doing that,” growled the Mandalorian, and he stomped into Underhaven. Luke followed; even if the Mandalorian technically didn’t need a guide anymore, he still wanted to make sure he and the baby got away safely.

The Mandalorian clearly knew where he was going, and they made it to his hangar without further incident. Luke had to smile as he looked at the battered silver craft; it had the same feel of the  _ Millennium Falcon, _ of being a home for someone. The Mandalorian was certainly glad to see it, and had to push the kid back down when he poked his head out and squealed with joy at the ship.

They stood awkwardly in the hangar for a moment before Luke said, “Thank you for all the information on the Imperials. And I’m glad we could get your kid back to you.”

The Mandalorian nodded solemnly. “Thank you for keeping him safe.”

“I know you’re probably heading back to the Outer Rim, but…” Luke fished the small holodisc he’d prepared and offered it to the Mandalorian. “It’s my contact info. Personal channel, encrypted and secured by the best droid I know. If you need me for anything - if you have questions about the Force, or need something for the baby, or just have more information on the Imperials - you can call me.”

The Mandalorian stared at him for a moment, so long Luke wasn’t sure he’d accept, but he took the disc and tucked it into his belt. “Thank you.”

“Safe travels,” said Luke, offering his hand. After a brief hesitation, the Mandalorian reached out and clasped it with a nod of thanks.

The baby poked his head out, chirping happily, and waved. “Good-bye, little one,” said Luke softly. “Be good for your father.”

Luke watched the ship’s ramp lower and the Mandalorian walk up it, his hand protectively cradling the baby’s little green head. The ramp closed, and only when the ship hummed to life and eased out of the hangar did Luke quietly walk away, to return home.

-

They weren’t out of things yet, Din reminded himself. Just because they were on the ship didn’t mean there was still trouble in store. Darja might’ve shared her suspicions with other Black Sun already, or the Senator wouldn’t be as good as her word if traffic control picked him up, or a thousand other issues that could rear their ugly heads to plague him.

But it was hard to not feel relieved when he stepped back onto his ship, with his baby in his arms.

The kid cooed happily when he saw the familiar insides of the Razor Crest and babbled all the way up to the cockpit. Din pulled off the poncho and threw it in the extra chair before extracting the kid from the sling. He giggled, clutching tightly to his Mandalorian toy, and squealed with what could only be delight when Din set him in his box.

“You like it?” asked Din. He was supposed to be getting off this rock as fast as possible, but he leaned forward to adjust the blanket and handed the kid the frog toy. “I fixed it up nice for you.”

The kid observed the frog toy curiously, then giggled and tried to feed it to the Mandalorian toy.

“Yeah, you play while I take us out, okay?” Din couldn’t help himself from stroking one of the big adorable ears, but pulled himself away and returned to the task of flying the ship. He ran a security check and found nothing out of order, and that was enough for him. The  _ Razor Crest _ ’s engines growled as she lifted up and carefully eased out of the hangar. Din glimpsed Skywalker standing near the hangar entrance, watching.

He really wasn’t that bad, Din decided. None of them had really been that bad.

The baby squealed happily as the ship accelerated, and when Din glanced back he saw both toys now held tightly in the kid’s arms. The Solo twins had had a lot of toys. Maybe he should figure out what the kid liked, try and invest in some more. Why did kids have to have toys, anyway? He clearly needed to do some Holonet searches. He shook his head, which kept getting dangerously close to foggy. Right now he needed to concentrate on getting them out.

Din was on edge, waiting for them to be discovered as he wove through Coruscant’s traffic and it wasn’t long before he noticed he was being tailed. The battered freighter looked innocent enough - he wasn’t sure how a ship in that state could still fly - but there was no mistaking the fact that it was following him closely. Whoever was flying was no slouch, either, deftly avoiding any obstacle and his efforts to shake them.

The comm pinged. “Hey Mando, mind not flying so suspiciously?” crackled Solo’s voice through the speaker. “We’re here to keep you  _ out _ of trouble, not get you in more.”

“What Han means is I thought it’d be safest if we escorted you out in the  _ Falcon,” _ said Organa. “Just in case there’s any misunderstandings over your ship’s identification.”

Din almost jumped in his chair when the baby screeched happily. “It’s the baby! Hi baby!” chorused the twins.

“Abweebabaah,” said the baby cheerfully, and loudly.

“Settle down, you two,” said Solo. “Look, officially I’m supposed to say that Coruscant security is impregnable, but angle two degrees right and we should slip right by the main patrol ship for this hemisphere.”

Din checked the sensors and saw Solo was right, and adjusted his course accordingly. The  _ Falcon _ glided over and in front of him. “Follow us and we’ll get you out,” said Solo.

“Copy that,” said Din.

The sky darkened as they left the atmosphere behind. No ships bothered them; a few patrol craft looked like they might be starting to investigate but broke off, presumably at the sight of the  _ Falcon _ .

Finally Coruscant was a glittering orb behind them, and the stars were spread out ahead. “You should be able to jump to lightspeed from here,” said Organa. “Try and avoid any New Republic craft for a few weeks, to make sure I can get this all sorted.”

“Fly safe, Mando,” said Solo.

“Ray-tun-shay-mee!” said Jacen cheerfully.

“It’s ree-toor-shay-mee, Jacen,” said Jaina. “Threepio says that means good-bye in your language. Ree-toor-shay-mee, baby!”

“Ree-toor-shay-mee!” echoed Jacen.

Din didn’t quite have the heart to tell them they were both saying it wrong. “Good-bye,” he said quietly.

“Abbaab,” said the baby, and Din cut the channel.

The navicomputer had finished its calculations to a nearby planet - just a stop along several jumps to be sure he was keeping any possible threats off their tails - and the ship was primed and ready to go. Din pulled the lever and the stars extended into starlines, and finally into the mottled blue of hyperspace.

He’d done it. He’d rescued his kid. His kid was  _ safe. _

Din slumped in his chair and let out a long breath. It felt like the first one since he’d taken that horrible job of Ran’s. All at once his head hurt and his stomach growled and his throat was parched and despite it all he felt like he could lay down on the cockpit floor right now and go to sleep for the next several days.

“Daah!” said the kid behind him.

Din turned, and as soon as he did the kid dropped the toys in his arms and reached out. Din obliged the unspoken request, picking the kid up and holding him close. The light weight of the kid on his chest had never felt so precious, the sound of claws clicking against his armor so wonderful. He knew that never letting the kid leave his sight again was not really very practical, because he had to eat sometimes, but right now the idea seemed perfectly reasonable.

_ “Ad’ika,” _ he said softly, loving how the ears perked up at the word,  _ “ner ad’ika, _ I missed you so much.”

His child cooed back, and his smile was the sweetest thing Din had ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading, and for all your kind comments. I'm so glad y'all enjoyed it; I cannot emphasize enough that this story was started on a whim and I never expected people to get so invested in my little plot-bunny-that-could!  
> The story is concluded, but I'll be posting Chapter 12 from Din's POV as well soon, if you're interested.
> 
> The epilogues for our characters:  
> Admiral Narro receives an official reprimand for her handling of the situation, and has to undergo hours of extremely boring cultural sensitivity training.  
> Tolli’s encounter with the child made him realize that his true calling is helping children specifically, and he changes careers to be a highly-accredited preschool teacher.  
> Leia gets all of Din’s troubles with the New Republic brushed under the rug. The only remnant of the prison ship incident is a bootleg copy of Din’s rampages that passes through military personnel and is very popular. “He thinks he could fight a Mando” becomes a phrase used to indicate an overconfident braggart.  
> Jacen and Jaina go through a Mandalorian phase for a few weeks despite Han and Leia and Luke reminding them that the Mandalorian staying with them overnight is a secret and that if they have any visitors they do not want to explain why their children are wearing buckets on their heads and speaking poorly pronounced Mando’a phrases. Threepio thinks this is madness but keeps teaching them the Mando'a anyway. It sounds hilarious in his voice.  
> Din finally gets a nap.  
>   
> Edit: Fanficscorpio also wanted to make sure they got to eat, too.  
>   
> And he and his baby live happily ever after. I have spoken.
> 
> Baby Yoda's Commentary:  
> "I have Dad it's like I don't even care what happens for the rest of the day"  
> "Okay maybe a little. Bye friends :("  
> "NO MY TOY okay thanks Dad"  
> "Ooooh who's that? Friend? Okay Dad wants to shoot her, not friend"  
> "WE'RE HOME YAAAAAAAAAY AND DAD GOT ME A PRESENT YAAAAAAY"  
> "You need to eat, Tiny Toy Dad. Have a frog. Maybe this will convince Real Dad to actually fucking eat something for once."  
> "Dad, I missed you too. <3"


	15. Bonus: Reunion from Din's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din's take on the events of Chapter 12.

The stun blaster was already in his hand by the time he burst out into the sixth floor. Din scanned for any security but saw none. A quick glance out the nearby window oriented him; he recognized the building he’d spent the day in and could see the faint outline of the park building where he’d seen his boy. That meant the door ahead was surely the one to Organa’s apartment.

Din didn’t hesitate. He strode right over, blaster raised and ready, and kicked it in.

Immediately he was met with an eerie green glow; his helmet compensated for the light change and he saw it was a laser sword, held by none other than Skywalker. Organa and Solo were there too, armed and with blasters pointed right at him.

The beskar could handle that and even if it couldn’t, Din had only one thing on his mind. “Where’s my kid?!”

Silence, weapons still raised, until Solo finally said, “Get out of my house.”

Din didn’t come all this way just to leave. “I want my kid. I know he’s here, I  _ saw _ him,  _ give him to me.” _ He could still see him now in his mind’s eye - the kid was waiting for him,  _ counting _ on him. Din couldn’t let him down.

“You’re the Mandalorian,” said Skywalker. “The one on the prison ship.” He held the sword steady and he clearly knew how to use it. Din was no swordsman; he’d have to take care of Skywalker quickly if it came down to it.

“And you’re the bastard who took my kid,” growled Din. “Give him back.”

“We don’t do demands at gunpoint around here, pal,” snapped Solo. Steady hand and sure aim; he would be a good shot and Din could see him aiming for a gap in the beskar, where the poncho lifted enough to expose his armor underneath. “Put the blaster down and we’ll think about it.”

“Han,” reprimanded Organa, though she never took her eyes off Din. Her stance and grip indicated she knew how to use that blaster just as well. She’d have to be stunned; he’d promised Cara he wouldn’t hurt her, and even now he wasn’t about to break that. “We know the child is yours,” she said. “Lower your blaster and we can talk about this.”

Din did not want to talk. He wished they’d all still been asleep so it hadn’t come to this, but it had. One more warning, at least; maybe they’d finally listen and he could avoid a fight. “I  _ want _ my  _ kid,”  _ he demanded. “Give him to me. Now.”

They weren’t going to listen. No one this entire time had fucking  _ listened, _ no matter how many times he’d told them the kid was his, and just like with Narro and her ilk he had no choice once again. Two whistling birds set to nonfatal hits, hopefully enough to take down Skywalker and Solo, and then he could stun Organa and take his kid before they recovered.

The three reacted instantly to the whine of the whistling birds priming, ready to fight, but before Din could start the round a door slammed and a piercing, unholy,  _ wonderful _ wail filled the room.

His kid was racing towards him, arms outstretched and eyes fixed on Din. Skywalker tried to grab the kid but he easily evaded the Jedi, and as soon as he was close enough Din snatched him up and held him close, barely keeping the blaster trained on Skywalker as he finally,  _ finally _ felt the precious weight of his boy in his arms.

The kid was reaching up for him too, his coos now the most wonderful sound Din had ever heard in his life. He held the kid closer, as close as he could; he had him back and he was never going to let him go again.

Movement reminded him of the situation and he tightened his grip on his blaster, but it was only Skywalker deactivating the laser sword, clipping it to his belt, and raising his hands in surrender.

“Kid, what are you doing?” asked Solo; he and Organa still had their blasters trained on Din. He tightened his hand on the kid, ready to move him if they started shooting.

“Please lower your weapon and come in,” said Skywalker. “We want to talk to you.”

Din did not want to talk. He wanted to leave. He wanted to be back on his ship, safely in hyperspace, sitting in the safety of the cockpit and hugging his kid close to his chest for as long as the kid wanted to be there.

As soon as he tried to step back Organa spoke. “We’re not going to take your child,” she said. “We’d already figured out he was yours. I saw the claims you made to Admiral Narro. I want to hear what you know about the Imperial remnants.”

“I want you away from my kids,” snapped Solo.

“I  _ don’t _ hurt children,” Din snapped back in kind. He was tired of the assumption and he lacked the energy to put up with it anymore. “I wouldn’t be here if that karking Admiral hadn’t taken  _ my _ kid.”

“We’re not going to take your kid. We just want to talk,” said Skywalker. “And with the power down, security is going to be swarming this place any minute. Come in. Please.”

That was enough to make him waver. He was exhausted and hungry and while he’d be willing to fight the entire security force of Coruscant one-handed as long as his kid was safe in his arms, that didn’t mean he wanted to.

The kid babbled, patting his helmet. He sounded happy. He wasn’t hurt. They’d taken care of him, and there were children here to keep safe. They wouldn’t invite him in if they wanted to fight him. “All right.”

_ “After _ the blaster gets put down,” said Solo sharply.

Organa disarmed herself, but Solo matched Din slowly holstering his weapon in a familiar dance Din had done a hundred times with other potential enemies or allies.

Organa gestured to the nearby couch. “Make yourself at home.”

For a second all Din could think about was the sheer absurdity of the fact that a wanted bounty hunter had just been offered a seat by a Senator, but the moment passed and he sat. It was very comfortable and it would be wonderful to lay down on it, but even if that had been an option the kid probably wouldn’t have let him. He was babbling nonstop, pulling at the scarf and hood with an expression that was almost annoyed, until the beskar helmet was exposed. Din supposed it didn’t matter. It was really hard to think about anything but the baby in his face, babbling happily, little hands patting his helmet, his eyes almost glowing with delight.

“Is that the baby’s daddy?” asked a child’s voice.

“I wanna meet him. Is he a Mandalorian?” said another.

Din had to move his own kid to see the twins he’d spotted earlier, staring at him with open curiosity even as their father scooped them up protectively, saying, “You two need to go back in the panic room.”

“I don’t hurt children,” snapped Din before he thought better of it. He held the kid tighter.

Solo wasn’t convinced. “You barged in my house with a blaster -”

“To rescue my kid! From you!”

“Enough,” said Organa, cutting the argument short, and he let her. He was very much at the mercy of these people; it would be easy to expose him to Coruscant security, and they all clearly knew how to fight and wouldn’t be an easy defeat.

To make things worse, a fucking droid poked its head out of the hall, addressing the Senator. It looked harmless enough, but Din knew protocol droids could be given all sorts of modifications; as a kid he’d hated the story of the assassin droid that had run with Mandalore the Preserver for a time. His kid was suddenly back in his face again, patting his helmet and blocking his view, and by the time he pried him off of the T-visor the twins and the droid were gone. Solo sat down by his wife, clearly ready to get the blaster back out at the slightest provocation, and when Skywalker came over he took one look at Din and decided he’d better sit by his sister.

Silence; he wasn’t going to break it first, though, not when he needed to get his thoughts in order. They wanted to talk about the Imps. He hoped he had enough to give, enough to convince them it was best to let him slip away. He couldn’t tell them everything, though. If they knew that  _ he’d _ been the one to turn in the kid in the first place… if they thought he shouldn’t have him anymore, that it’d be better if  _ they _ kept the kid… 

But on the other hand, they had a lot more resources to bring against the Imps than one lone bounty hunter on the run. Cara had no love for the Imps, and since she’d seemed to respect Organa, maybe Organa was just as passionate about stopping them. If they knew about the remnant on Nevarro, maybe they’d know enough to actually track down the Client and his pet doctor, and stop them before they ever got their greedy hands on his kid again. If there was no client, there’d be no bounty, no reasons for hunters to track them down.

Maybe this was how he could finally ensure the kid could grow up safe.

The child cooed contentedly, and he tore his eyes away from the adults opposite to look down at his boy. The kid smiled back up at him, perfectly content in his arms, and he knew right then he’d do anything for him - even trust these strangers sitting across from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist a little KOTOR reference. Especially once I thought of Din taking one look at _Threepio_ of all people and immediately thinking "oh my god he's secretly an assassin droid" and it made me laugh my ass off. (Can you imagine poor Din encountering HK-47 though....)
> 
> Since some people have asked, I don't have a plan for a big sequel of any sort, but I am kinda thinking of doing some shorts of Din crossing paths with the Skywalker-Solo clan again. I'd definitely tag/add a note for anything that takes place in the same AU as No Prison Can Hold. For now though I'm gonna be mostly concentrating on my [Baby Yoda POV fic](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592260), since I want that done before Season 2 airs. Otherwise you can find me on [my Tumblr](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Once again thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and for all your kind comments and encouragement!! They mean a lot to me and I'm so glad you have all enjoyed the fic.
> 
> Edit: At some commenters' suggestions I've added this to a series, so you can subscribe if you want to see anything else I write for this AU. (Like I said though, I'm working mainly on another fic right now, so it might be a bit before any updates.) I've also gone back to Chapter 1 and added Baby Yoda commentary since everyone liked his comments so much.


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